15 Year Remaster: Step Toward the Future
by Dark Ryuu
Summary: Set in BTN/MFOMT/DS: Jill ("Claire") is struggling to find a goal in life after high school. After her parents boot her off to her late grandfather's farm, everything around her is never quite the same. Remastered from original 2004 release. Jill/Cliff, minor Jill/Kai, minor Jill/Doctor. OC/Popuri, OC/Elli.
1. The Beginning

**Chapter 1:** The Beginning

 **Blanket Disclaimer** : I don't own Harvest Moon.

 **Author's Note** :

 **2019 Rewrite Notes:** So, I finally decided to stop being lazy since I am working on the original six's stories (mostly Shin's right now) and just edit this bad boy to fit where we are now. I have like 90 different versions sitting in this folder but we'll call this the "Forever Edit" until I edit something else into the storyline.

It's only necessary for some unsavory things that were 'normal' when I was fourteen. It did kind of strike me as funny that Cliff's 'gentlemanliness' is a little gross to me now. It just didn't come off naturally. Also, while Jill was a loner and aloof in the original version, while she's not super friendly 'everyone is my friend!', I don't get the idea she'd purposefully be that way so that's gonna be played down. Also, since Koji's our quintessential dark child, she may still dress darkly and have a few of the original stylings but that's gonna be rolled back a little too. And just some general cohesiveness corrections. ADDITIONALLY, I hope I can truncate this disaster to make it a more reasonable amount of chapters.

I'm going to remove the classic version from again but you can still access it on Archive of Our Own. I know a lot of my old time readers are nostalgic and the version over there was how it was ORIGINALLY uploaded.

 **New time readers** , welcome to the series. It's cray. I have literally been writing this thing for fifteen years. I have slowed down due to being a full-time employed millennial so I get in where I fit in now. This story is set in 2004. It's an AU take on the game. There will be lore and Easter eggs toward the series but overall, just take the characters and throw them into a real setting. Be forewarned, some of your favorite characters may be portrayed as unsavory but this changes (now). I hope you enjoy! Happy reading~ 

XXX

 _Jill was lost in her own world of heavy metal and moshing as she walked through the concert of one of the local bands, coolly shoving past the riled up fans, cursing them silently under her breath. She wasn't in a good mood. The screaming rhythm that she had come to love wasn't numbing her disgust at all._

 _She'd been asked to take over her grandfather's farm and she was leaving tomorrow morning._

 _She'd whined for nearly three weeks but her parents demanded she follow her grandfather's last wishes. She had five other brothers, but she was chosen out of all of them. Most likely because, out of all of them, she was the only one not attending college aside from the oldest who already had a career._

 _Mumbling lightly, she started for the exit, seeing as the concert wasn't providing her any joy and tomorrow was going to be a long day._

 _And the sooner she got this over with, the sooner she got to leave._

She heard the alarm beeping, but she didn't want to wake up. She didn't want to go. Why was she being forced to do this? What did she, someone who'd only known the city for eighteen years, know about farming?

She picked up her alarm clock and threw it across the room, burying her face into her pillow. Whose test was this exactly?

"Well, good morning, Sunshine" said a sarcastic voice.

She looked to the door of her large room to see her older brother, Yagami Koji, standing there and grumbled.

"Shut up and kill me."

He smiled gently and came further in to sit on her bed, "Aww, you know I'd go for you if mom and dad weren't so invested in seeing you do something."

"Can't I take _time_ to figure that out? I just don't _know_! I'm not like you or Shin, I don't know what I want to _do_!" she protested, referring to their oldest brother who had a full blown career now.

"And you can do that while you're managing the farm" he said warmly, "Hell, maybe you'll have an epiphany in like the first year then one of us will come and run it the rest of the way. You have to admit, Jilly, you've been sitting around for months doing absolutely nothing and while we have super lenient parents, they do not care for idleness."

She sat up and hugged his waist, whining, "Big brother…"

He stroked her long blond hair and rested his chin on top of her head, "Mmm, tell you what: how about I come and help on my next break. Sound okay?"

She sighed. "I guess..."

"Psh, you guess? Can you imagine Koji actually farming?" said a snickering voice.

They both looked up and Koji glared at him. "If I weren't comforting our baby sister, I'd so flick you off."

The other oldest, Yagami Nerimaru, known amongst their family as 'Nelly', gave Koji a large grin and placed his left hand on his hip. He shook a spatula at them.

"The nerve! And after I got up all early and crap to fix breakfast. I'm hurt."

Koji stood and rolled his eyes at his sibling, who in fact was his younger twin "How sweet of you. Did you hit your head or something?"

"Bah. I can't do anything out of the kindness of my heart?"

Koji raised an eyebrow, blinking innocently "Kindness? Is there any?"

Koji laughed and ran down the hallway as Nelly threw the spatula at him. He glared in the direction Koji fled and Jill groaned. Ah, her brothers…her stomach flopped and she winced, biting her lip as nervousness suddenly overtook her.

"What if no one there likes me?" she whispered.

"What are you talking about? Does it even matter?" Nelly questioned.

"Yea, if I have to _stay_ there for three or more years until we sell it or someone takes it over, it kind of does" she huffed.

Nelly suddenly leered, looking back down the hallway, "Oi, Koji!"

Somehow she knew what direction this was going already when Koji reappeared. Nelly glowered, "She's gonna be in ol' country town without our supervision and probably meeting all sorts of shmucks."

"It crossed my mind" Koji assured.

Jill groaned, burying her face in her hands. Here we go. She had maybe two boyfriends in her life because these two and, to a smaller degree, her other _three_ brothers terrified anything identifying as male away from her. Hell, they _might_ take this from her with that option looming overhead.

"But I'm leaning that Jill's city sensibilities aren't gonna be swayed by some country dude" Koji added.

What now? Jill gave him a look as Nelly looked dubious. "I dunno, dude, those country girls are hot, why are the dudes gonna be any different?"

Koji mused over this and she groaned again, "Okay, while you two decide if you're sending bodyguards with me, leave so I can take a shower."

She went into the shower and turned on the radio to Yellowcard, an American band, as she started to wash her hair. She started to wonder...

Did they have showers? Oh God, she was going to die.

She wandered out after several minutes and pulled on her black shirt and a pair of red pants. Heading downstairs in the Yagami mansion to the kitchen, she found some of her brothers swinging pots and pans at each other, Koji and Nelly milling in the corner, probably still discussing her supervision while all that nonsense went on around them. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. Well, one pro: She was leaving this insanity behind.

XXX

Shin, her oldest brother, looked back at her as she gulped heavily. He was driving her to the ferry to spirit her to this farming island. Her father, Yagami Yamada, a big-time surgeon, was supposed to but got called in to treat a dying patient.

Her mother also was called to surgery. Fashion surgery, that is. Apparently there were two models on opposite spectrums in a show, one gaining too much weight to wear an outfit and another losing too much. Her mother, the great Yagami Dana, went to fix it so neither of them lost the opportunity.

Nelly and Koji only came to the mansion this morning to see her off from there, they had school. Somehow, she was glad as Shin was always the absolute calmest of all of them. She needed that right now…

Shin smiled. "You okay, sweetie?"

"Of course not" she grumbled.

He gave her a warmer smile, "You'll be fine, imoto."

"Yahhh, if you don't scare the living crap out of your neighbors first" said a drowsy voice.

She glared back at her own male twin, Tony. Shin cut his eyes in the rearview mirror at him. "You're not helping, Tony."

Tony smiled, "I kid. However, remember, these people probably don't even know what a CD is so you might not want to be blasting your EMO or any version of alt-rock immediately."

She gasped at this revelation then sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm gonna die!"

Tony patted her head, "You'll be fine, Jilly. I'm not a huge fan of this idea either but maybe getting to a new place might give you good perspective."

"And who knows? Maybe you'll find a boyfriend too" said the final, and youngest, brother in the group, Shaun.

She glared behind her, "Well, if you and Tony weren't so busy waging war, you'd know that Koji and Nelly expressly forbid it."

"Yeah, you better not" grumbled Tony.

She glowered at him, "Even if I was capable of getting a guy to talk to me, given not _one_ of you loons has ever allowed me to get the experience, I wouldn't want some back-country hick."

Shaun laughed, "You definitely won't get a boyfriend with that attitude!"

"She won't get one at all!" snapped Tony.

Shin scowled them both to silence before he smiled again, "Just try to enjoy yourself, Jill. Whatever happens will happen."

"...If you say so, Shin."

She didn't know. Maybe this would be the worst experience of her life.

XXX

She was alone. All alone. She'd had five brothers and two parents her whole life, the very idea of 'alone' was traumatizing. But she wasn't exactly 'alone'. She was amongst absolute strangers. Their electric eyes gave her suspicious looks as she slowly wandered through town to find a grocery store. She just needed food. Everyone needed to eat, right?

She had _no_ idea where anything was. Jill watched them whisper and raise eyebrows at her. Chills ran up and down her spine and her stomach was twirling. So this was it, huh? Going from her comfortable cozy circumstances to Judgmental Town 101? She didn't even feel okay asking them where the damn grocery store was.

Her lips began to twitch and before she knew it, she had stopped to sit on a bench to cry. Everyone on the street looked positively startled and started to quickly walk away from her, disturbed. Why? Did she look _that_ scary? She cried into her hands, wishing her brothers were there to help. How could she survive when everybody judged her before they even got to know her? This was going to be three years of hell!

She choked on sobs, rubbing her eyes. What was wrong with her? She was having a nervous breakdown for what reason? This was not the Yagami way. They just struggled and fought until things leveled out. She was not going to be the one Yagami breaking down because she couldn't get groceries.

Suddenly, a shadow came over her before someone sat down next to her. She sniveled, very startled, and looked to her side, about to glare and question what they were doing? Everyone was ignoring her or hadn't they noticed?

But her eyes widened and she had to keep her mouth from falling open. A guy was beside her, a concerned look on his face. But that wasn't what got her…

She didn't think hot guys would even be here.

He had golden dirty brown hair that reached a little bit down his back, past his shoulders, pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes were bright blue and full of something warm and captivating...and he had on a black shirt and ripped jeans...

One thing was for sure: this was not the average town person she'd passed.

He tilted his head slightly to the side and finally asked, his voice soft and gentle, "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Now could she really say to this rather extremely handsome young gentleman her reason for crying like a complete idiot in the middle of town? No, she couldn't.

Then again. "I...I can't find the grocery store" she sobbed.

He gave her a breathtaking smile and chuckled, "That all? It's all right. This town isn't set up very conveniently."

"It's just no one would help me..." she blubbered, feeling like a moron.

He frowned, "You're new here, right? No one offered to show you around?"

She shook her head. Even the mayor hadn't asked if she wanted a tour. He just ran away as soon as he showed her to the farm. The guy continued to frown for a moment then gave her another bright smile.

"Well then, allow me the honor. I am Izumi Cliff" he introduced himself, standing and putting his hand out to help her up.

She reached slowly towards his outstretched hand and took it. So warm. "H-hi, Izumi-san. I'm Yagami Jill. I'm going to be running the Obinata Farm. Um, sorry for the random...breakdown. It's probably not the best way to meet someone. Rather awkward, I'd say."

He smiled pleasantly, "Why? I have them everyday. This town is about as fun as getting a root canal."

"Eek" she winced.

"Indeed..." he smirked, watching some snooty woman go by.

"So...you're going to show me the grocery store?" she asked hopefully.

"I'll do more than that! I'll show you where the few things that exist are in this town" he said in an almost haughty manner.

She smiled shyly, "I'm honored."

"Believe me, the honor's all mine" he replied, bowing.

He led her back to…"Oki doki, square one."

She didn't feel annoyed, in fact, she fought off giggling, "Um...my farm? I kind of got down where this is."

"Well, I'd hope you'd know your way here, I guess" he grinned.

He led her upwards and stopped in front of an old looking building with smoke looming from it. "This is the blacksmith."

She raised an eyebrow, "Blacksmith? For what? It's the 21st century."

"Here, it's like the 19th century. Four channels of television and they're still using books. I mean, who actually reads anymore? We have the internet and fanfiction for that" he mused.

She laughed despite herself, "I mean, I _do_ still read books but what's the use of the blacksmith then?"

"I think he makes tools and stuff. I think. I dunno, I don't talk to these people very often. All I know is his grandson is like, quiet Satan."

"What?"

"Well, maybe not Satan, but quiet Lucifer" he 'corrected'.

She laughed, surprised at herself, but very amused, "Those are like the same thing!"

"Okay, okay, he's kind of a nice guy once you get to know him but he's tsundere to a tee. Don't be too off-put if he says something terrible but doesn't mean it" Cliff snickered.

She chuckled and nodded. He led her forward a bit to another house.

"This is the house of Duke and Manna. They're like, upper class to the max but they sell wine and grape juice" he said before breaking off, musing.

"Hmm?" she questioned, sensing he had more to say.

"Well, I suggest avoiding Duke. He doesn't like youth."

She smirked at that, "Sounds kind of…old."

"Yea, he's kind of weird."

Cliff led her forward to another house. "This is Anna and Basil's house. They're the local botanists. They also have a daughter named Mary. She's smart and 'I know so much more than you, loser' and she works in the library. Not that I really go there."

She groaned, "I probably won't either. I have to learn to farm. I guess I'll be reading 'fanfictions' if I do have free time."

He waved his hand, "Damn straight! And that said place is right there. The library…also known as the Legion of Doom."

She chuckled again and he led her around the bend. "This is the mayor's house right here...he lives with this photographer named Kano. Kano came from the mainland too. I think he said he's from Wasaba or something."

"Oh my God, really?" Her dad came up there, maybe he knew him.

"Yep! The mayor lets him stay here for now until I guess he finds a Ms. Mayor. I mean, the guy needs someone to keep him warm at night. He's not exactly a looker."

She giggled as the mayor's appearance popped into her head. "Yea, I have never met anyone wearing a top hat _not_ as a costume before. I thought those went out of style."

Cliff laughed, "Yeah, I was pretty blown away when I came here too."

So he wasn't from around here either? What made him settle in these parts then? Walking up a bit to the next house, Cliff smiled. "Well, this lady is pretty nice. Her name's Ellen and she has a granddaughter named Elli and her grandson, Stu. She makes a nice apple pie for everyone during the holidays."

Jill smiled softly, more at the look on his face rather than what he was saying, "At least someone pleasant exists, huh?"

"Oh, they are few and in between."

The place next door happened to be…

"Here it is, as promised. The grocery store" he said, waving his hand.

She groaned and blushed, "I feel so stupid..."

"Don't, really. This place looks like all the rest of the houses."

She smiled at his comfort and then noticed a random girl glaring at them from the benches nearby. She was wearing a white tube top, a pair of jean hot pants and a purple vest. Her hair was blond in the front and brown in the back and she had piercing green eyes.

"Why are you hanging out in front of our store? Get lost, losers!" she snapped.

"And that would be the store owner's lovely daughter, Karen. Don't worry. I find her mother Sasha to be rather kind. Wonder what happened with her daughter..." Cliff remarked.

Karen glared furiously at him and he grabbed Jill's hand, quickly dashing by. She blushed at the little contact, her heart fluttering. He released it once they were a nice distance away from the angry Karen.

"Best not taunt that one" he grinned, shaking his head, "I mean, like Grey, she's nice, just tends to get a little irritable about her circumstances from time to time."

Circumstances? He looked around and then pointed at a white building.

"That is the doctor's office. Note that everyone calls him 'The Doctor' but his name is Ishikawa Tsumaru though. Really nice guy, one of my closest buddies here."

Jill frowned, that name ringing a bell. Dr. Ishikawa…

They rounded another corner and he pointed up a walkway. "That's the church. They have confession and services. Y'know, stuff like that."

She nodded and they walked up the path a little more. He frowned and blinked a little. "This is the inn slash restaurant where I stay. Here is where Doug and Ann live."

He looked upwards for a moment, as if thinking, then laughed, "Never mind. Let us continue!"

She stared at him as he passed her then continued to follow. He showed her everywhere that day and she felt so grateful to him. They went back to the store where they got a lot of dirty looks from fellow shoppers. Great. But Cliff smiled as if he didn't notice them.

And she did the same. She wasn't alone right now.

They walked back to her house and she smiled at him, "Thanks so much. I'm glad I found someone in town that's nice."

He smiled sheepishly, "You bet. And no need to thank me. It was my pleasure."

He then grinned, "Well, I'll leave you to unpack and stuff. Hope to see more of you."

She nodded and watched him walk off. Huh.

She was actually starting to look forward to this a bit more.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **End Notes:** WTF, Yellowcard?! 2004, bruh! This was some nostalgic research here.

Koji, Nelly, Tony, and Shaun are the farmer from Back to Nature/More Friends of Mineral Town/DS. Just…not really. When we were kids, I played as Koji, my cousin sort of played as Nelly, my younger cousin played as Tony, and, just to be inclusive, we had one other cousin play in spirit as Shaun. Shin is the farmer from Save the Homeland/Hero of Leaf Valley. Jill is the blonde protagonist from Back to Nature: For Girls and DS Cute. I can find no real remaining evidence but, prior to "Jill", the brunette AnWL character, 'Claire' was _Jill_. Thus, why I named her such…I don't remember when or why the shift came. Just remember, this was written sort of _before_ Another Wonderful Life came out (Crazy, right?).

It has been centuries since I played BTN/More Friends of Mineral Town (I am not a nostalgia player often). I barely recall what the town looks like…


	2. Discovery

**Chapter 2:** Discovery

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Harvest Moon.

 **2018 Notes:** I'll actually keep my previous 2004-2005 note: I doubt character Cliff would be like this but his character has changed due to his backstory. It'll make sense later and much more sense than the original.

XXX

Jill, after having slept on it, figured that Cliff had been something of a figment of her imagination. Either that or some random person passing through. No one like that could survive in this environment, this…country town. She sighed as she finished her cereal. Oh well, probably for the best. She pulled her black overalls and a Tool shirt with a baggy hoodie on before heading out to get to the chores.

She stood over her field and gaped some. How did _boulders_ get there? Was there some kind of...land slide? She shook her head and started to shove them around, seeing as she couldn't really do anything else with them. After this, she was going to be ready for a very long nap...but there were just those branches and tree stumps. Their poor great-grandpa had been in bad shape for a few years so this must have been the result. She groaned. What had she gotten herself into?

"Mm, nothing like a good day of work" said a friendly voice.

She turned in shock and there, sure enough, stood her knight from the day before. This time he was attired in a red shirt with crazy black designs. It was odd, everyone seemed to dress like they were in a time warp but him and anyone within maybe three years of their age. He smiled and tilted his head.

"What's wrong? Looks like you've seen a ghost."

She gulped and shook her head rapidly, "I just...thought you were a...traveler."

He brightened, "Oh, generally I am. I'm just posted up here for a while."

She chuckled, "Oh."

He sat on a tree trunk and looked around before whistling in awe, "Man, I don't even think an army of giants would take this on. You could build a whole neighborhood in this field."

She sighed, "I know. I don't see why my family wants to save it in the first place."

As the story went, this was her mom's grandfather's land. He vacationed here by himself prior to marrying into his wife's family and always intended to come back. Of course, her mom's grandmother and continuing spawn were probably pure evil. When he was able to provide two male heirs and two daughters, his wife kicked him to the curb. He'd been here ever since and, as far as Jill knew, they were the only portion of his family that associated with him. Still, it…it was kind of a sad story, him dying here alone. Maybe it'd be better to let it go.

Cliff seemed to study her face carefully before he smiled reassuringly, "Well, c'mon. Don't they want to build an amusement park here? There's like all of two kids and a bunch of stuck up adults. It'd be a waste of nature."

She nodded slowly, "I suppose."

"Aww, you just got here. Don't get discouraged so easily. You're just what this morgue of a town needs. A breath of fresh air."

She blushed, embarrassed about this compliment, especially since she wasn't _allowed_ to get them often from men, "I'm far from...a breath of fresh air."

"Sure you are! You and me, we'll turn this town upside down. Now, how about lunch? You look hungry."

She accepted gratefully and she followed behind him, wondering exactly what he meant by 'turning the town upside down'...

XXX

About two months passed and, confusingly, she had to say those were the two best months of her life.

Cliff came by every day and hung out or took her places. On rare occasions, he'd even help her with the farm work. Cliff had quite a mischievous streak, often dragging her off to play pranks or loiter in the supermarket, really about the extent of the trouble they could actually make there. But, all the same, they were deemed the two troublemakers. And she loved it. And most of all, she liked being around Cliff. She liked having made a friend in this place. And a hot one too.

One day in early April, at 5 a.m., she heard a knock at the door. Groggy and disoriented, she stumbled to answer, swinging it open sleepily. It was, of course, Cliff. She stared at him, confused.

"Cliff? Wha' are you doing here so early?" she mumbled.

He eyed her up and down before he chuckled.

"Aww, I'm loving the bunny pajamas" he grinned, commenting about her black pajamas with cute white bunnies all over it.

She smirked at him, rubbing her eyes. He shooed her inside and closed the door behind him.

"Get dressed. We only have an hour" he said quickly.

"Come again?" she grumbled.

"You'll see, get dressed!" he exclaimed.

She shook her head and pulled on her normal clothes, wondering what his deranged mind was plotting up now. And why she had to be up at five in the freakin' morning for it...

When she came out, he grabbed her arm and dragged her from the farm. She was just letting him drag her along before she snapped out of her daze. They were at Duke's house. Oh dear.

"Cliff…" she said wearily.

He pressed his finger to her lips and pointed to a flag on top of Duke's house.

"We're taking that and replacing it..." he started.

Then he pulled another flag out that read 'Supermarket' and smiled pleasantly.

"With this one."

She raised an eyebrow, "...Um."

"Hey, these people love to start rumors. Just wait, they'll have some about Duke and Sasha having an affair or Jeff and Manna or they've become one huge super store because Karen's in debt to the winery because she's supposedly an alcoholic. We'd be doing these people a favor, giving them stuff to talk about" he informed.

She chuckled, "I guess? But why am I here?"

He looked up, "Well, I'm not ten feet tall..."

She flinched back, "Oh my God, no."

He hugged her waist, whining cutely. "Aww, pwease? You're the only one here for these types of things."

She blushed but sighed, relenting. He grinned happily then lifted her up by the waist. She yelped and hugged his head, startled by the sudden movement.

"U-Uh…" he commented after a moment.

She looked down and gasped in horror. His head was pressed against her chest pretty hard. Her face lit up completely and he smiled, embarrassed himself.

"Don't fret. Here."

He rested her on his shoulders and she bit her lip, her heart beating heavily. If Duke caught them, well, he'd…yell. But still. She switched the flag out and Cliff whispered.

"Hold on."

She was confused until he started running down the street towards the store. She gasped and clenched his head, resisting the need to scream in terror. But they arrived safely and she placed the winery flag on the grocery store. They were home free until they heard Duke screaming and cursing. She squealed and he grabbed her hand, racing down through the square then Barley's Farm before ending up at 'Lillia's Chicken Farm'. She gasped and clutched her chest and Cliff wiped his forehead of sweat.

"Whoo..."

She shoved him, "Ugh! Next time you come up with some crazy plan like that, tell me first! This is a violation of property!"

He hugged her, sighing, "I'm sorry."

She sighed and rested her head on his chest, basking in the feeling. She couldn't really be mad at him for whatever reason. This was her _brother's_ territory, just doing reckless things for a swift giggle but, right now, it felt fun because it was with him. She flushed and wondered when she'd gotten so… soft-hearted?

A moment later, she felt someone was behind them. She gazed around and jumped, fearful. Cliff looked over his shoulder and jumped a bit too before he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Jeez, Popuri, God, you scared the living crap out of me."

Jill inhaled sharply. Popuri? _The_ Popuri?

She had straight pink hair and scarlet eyes which were embellished with black mascara and black eyeliner. She had on a white blouse with a black lace-up corset, a red ruffled skirt that came to her knees, and black leather boots. Around her neck was… a black leather necklace with a half a heart.

Jill rubbed her arm, smiling awkwardly as she looked down. Oh boy. This was going to be tough. Popuri had a smile on her face as she clucked her tongue.

"More trouble?"

Cliff smiled back, "Of course. We're the troublemakers."

Popuri blinked at Jill, "Oh?"

"Oh, you two haven't met? This is Yamachi Popuri. Pu, this is Yagami Jill."

...Pu?

"Hi! I'm the one who harbors this fugitive when he's running from the law" Popuri said happily.

Jill had to laugh some, "I guess someone would have to, as much trouble as he gets in to all the time."

Cliff pouted, "I'm not in trouble that much."

Popuri smirked, "Uh huh."

Suddenly Cliff slung his arms around both of their shoulders. "Well, this has been a fun morning. I mean, well, it's only 6. Why don't I get you ladies breakfast, eh?"

Popuri chuckled, "You sure it's not too early for you to show your face?"

He grinned, "It was a clean crime, no one saw us!"

A 'clean crime'. The crime part was the issue. Jill warily looked at Popuri, a little confused. Why…why was she still wearing the necklace though? Did…did she still think about him? What had he seen if Popuri still wore it?

Cliff led them off to the Inn where they were just starting to open up. Cliff went up to the counter after they had gotten a table and Jill stared after him. She blinked when she saw a girl had caught his attention. Jill frowned and stared over the apparent waitress. She had orange, reddish hair wrapped in a white ribbon, wearing a yellow tank top and a pair of overalls. Jill raised an eyebrow at her and Popuri sighed. "That's Ann."

Jill turned to Popuri who had made the comment. Popuri groaned. "She's a little stuck up. But..."

She stopped for a moment, then glanced at Cliff. Jill glanced at her then to him. He was still looking at Ann...

"I guess he likes that in a woman. He swears that's the love of his life."

XXX

It wasn't like she meant to avoid Cliff after hearing this little bit of info on his love life but it just kind of happened that way. In some fashion of irony, Popuri hung out with her more and when she finally seemed to figure out Jill's growing infatuation with Cliff, she was apologizing every moment of the day.

"I'm _so_ sorry!"

Jill laughed despite herself, "Popuri, really, I'm over it!"

Popuri sighed, "I know but it's difficult. You want to be supportive but when you have feelings, it's just not easy."

They were walking to Jill's house after doing some shopping. Popuri smoothed her red skirt and sighed once again. Jill smiled softly. Popuri probably wasn't exactly aware that she would probably be on the counter-culture side of thing outside of Mineral Town but she was. Peppy but a little on the dark side. Koji and Popuri even liked somewhat similar music. Jill wanted to call her older brother to be nosy but…it pretty much changed him over entirely. She just wished she could ask what the deal with the necklace was.

"You should talk to him though!" said Popuri.

"I will, I will. I just need a little time away from him, tis' all."

"I see..."

Jill sighed, changing the subject, "Wanna watch a movie tonight?"

Popuri nodded, "Sure, sounds cool."

Then she suddenly clapped, "How about a sleep over?"

Jill blinked. It had been a while. Most of her girlfriend's from school generally had sleepovers with their boyfriends after they hit fifteen. Her family would spit fire first. But Popuri was a little older than her so she figured she'd be over that sort of thing too.

"Um...sure."

Popuri seemed excited and broke off away from Jill to her house, yelling. "I'll come at 7!"

"Okay!"

She was up to something.

XX

Jill stretched out on her bed, eating popcorn, as Popuri sat cross-legged, pointing poignantly, "Truth or dare?"

Jill laughed, "You should just take out the 'dare'."

Popuri grabbed her soda, "So I take that's 'truth'?"

"Yup" said Jill, sipping her soda.

"Have you had a lot of boyfriends? I feel like you'd have to knock 'em back with a shovel."

"Ha!" Jill snorted, grabbing a slice of pizza, "No freakin' way. I have—well, I have a lot of brothers and they are overprotective as hell. And my dad pretends he's not but he is too. I'm the only daughter and I guess 'big bad men' are scary. I've only gotten to even entertain two boyfriends and they almost pissed themselves thinking my brothers were around the corner so they broke up with me."

Popuri groaned, "I guess that is one factor about my brother. He doesn't care about what I do. I don't know what he cares about though."

"O-Oh. Well, um, I turn the question back on you. Have you had a lot of boyfriends?"

"Eh, more like 'beaus'. I was seeing this guy when I was fifteen, sixteen. He was only here for a year but we weren't serious. None of them around here are" she shrugged.

"O-Oh" Jill smiled anxiously. So…should she tell him…?

Popuri suddenly grinned, "So since it's just 'truth', let me ask this next: have you ever-"

A timid, soft knock came at Jill's front door and she stood, grinning as well. "Maybe it's fate you didn't finish that question, eh?"

Popuri winked and Jill left her bedroom to answer the door. Opening it slowly, her eyes widened when she saw a demure Cliff standing at her door, his arms behind his back and staring at his feet.

"Hey, Jill..."

She felt her heart pounding but she said calmly. "Hi, Cliff."

He coughed softly, "Um...I dunno what I did but...I'm sorry. I-It probably was that crazy flag stunt, right?"

She laughed nervously, "You didn't do anything! What would give you that idea?"

He frowned, "Haven't you been...you know, avoiding me?"

She shook her head, lying. There was no way she could tell him that she was jealous…that she liked him.

"I've just been busy, that's all."

"Oh..."

She frowned when she saw he was upset. How could she say that? That she was too busy for him…"Um, but I'm free now! You wanna hang out with me and Popuri?"

He looked up, a hopeful glint in his eyes. "Really?"

"Of course, silly. Come in" she smiled.

He blushed cutely for a second and handed her some flowers he had behind his back.

"Um, just in case you were mad at me" he said sheepishly.

She blushed, not used to strangers giving her flowers. Her boyfriends didn't want to leave evidence, after all. "T-Thanks...but I'm not."

"Oh well" he said happily.

She let him in and he followed behind her into her bedroom. He looked a bit freaked out when he came to her door. "Um, should I? We're not discussing our feelings and boys, are we?"

She shoved him, laughing, "Just go in!"

Popuri waved to Cliff, looking smug. Yea, she probably set this up. "Hi, Cliff!"

"Hi!" he waved back.

He sat on the floor and then looked a bit scared.

"Oh my God, this _is_ one of those girly things."

Popuri giggled, "Of course!"

Jill watched with amusement as Popuri put Cliff's hair up into pigtails with two big pink ribbons. He even let her put blue eye shadow on him. Jill fell backwards, laughing some.

"Oh my God."

He walked to their mirror and his eyes widened, "Wow..."

Popuri giggled, "I'm jealous, Cliff, you make a better looking woman than I do."

He chuckled, "I'll attempt to take that as a compliment. I look like a very masculine 'Oops, I Did It Again' era Britney Spears."

Then he went into an off-tune, improvised version of "I'm a Slave 4 U", sending them into hysterical laughter. Jill chuckled when Popuri started to sing A.D.I.D.A.S by Korn. Yes, the more time she spent with Popuri, she was starting to feel like maybe she was _just_ the type of woman Koji needed.

Jill's cheeks were red from consistent laughing with the variety of karaoke the two went through when she took the dishes to the kitchen. She glanced at her clock and her mouth fell open in shock. 4 a.m.? She winced. She'd lost track of time and there was no way she could wake up in two hours to start farm work. She sighed and headed to her bedroom and Cliff noticed her stressed look.

"What's wrong?"

"It's already 4 and I have to wake up at 6" she groaned.

"Oh, well, don't worry! I'll help you in the morning" said Cliff brightly.

"Me too!" Popuri added.

Jill smiled, touched. "Really? You guys are the best...ready to sleep?"

Cliff frowned and fidgeted, uncomfortable, "Um, I guess I should-"

Jill glared, "I am not letting you walk to the inn at 4 in the morning! Here, sleep. We promise we won't do anything to you."

Popuri giggled at the priceless look of astonishment on Cliff's face. She went and pulled out a futon she had brought when she hadn't known the house would be fully furnished. She set it on the floor for him and he looked relieved.

"Thank God, I thought you wanted me to sleep with you."

She pushed him, hiding her extreme embarrassment, and Popuri laughed, climbing into one of the twin beds that was in the room for some reason along with Jill's big bed. Jill climbed in and smiled.

"Night, guys."

"Night..." yawned Cliff sleepily.

"Night..." sighed Popuri.

Jill fell asleep for a moment, then woke up to stare at the sleeping Cliff. He looked so sweet. She'd missed him. So perhaps in the end...his friendship meant a lot more to her.

XXX

Cliff and Jill were walking from the river after a long day of fishing. It was just one of those boring days where she'd finished up early and Cliff had nothing to do...which was just about every day. She glanced at him as it seemed his eyes were locked to his feet. She raised an eyebrow. Cliff and distant were two words that never went together. Finally, after a couple minutes, he asked quietly. "So who ya' going to the Goddess Festival with?"

She blinked, "The 'what' festival?"

He looked up, that vibrant look she was more used to appearing on his face.

"You don't know!"

She shook her head and he turned around, grinning. "It's this huge shindig where all the girls of the village get together and learn to dance this whacked out 16th century dance but it's like tradition. They dress up in these pink gowns and wear these flower veils and stuff-"

"Sounds like hell!" she exclaimed.

He laughed, "Maybe to _you_ but it's still kind of fun because after you finish your little dance, you get to eat then dance by yourself. It's like a high school dance."

"...Oh."

"So who ya' going with?" he said suddenly.

"Going with?"

"Yeah" he said slowly.

"I guess no one. I don't know if I'd even want to go" she frowned.

He looked mortified and grabbed her hands. She blinked up at him and he said happily.

"No way! Come with me!"

"Um, sure, if you want..."

"Really? Sweet!"

He released her hands and hummed happily. She raised an eyebrow, not understanding why he was so pleased. When they came to her door, he winked. "Hey, you know this is _kind of_ considered a date, right?"

Her heart leapt and she gaped at him as he grinned.

"See ya' Saturday. Might wanna see Pu on the details on dance practice" he said as he walked away, leaving her gawking at him.

She clasped her heart and blushed. A date?

XXX

"That Cliff. Such a romantic" sighed Popuri.

Jill lied on Popuri's bed, still astonished, "I _guess_..."

Popuri smiled, "Got your dress?"

Jill pulled the packet out of her bag and unfolded it. "Haven't looked at it-"

Her mouth fell open in horror. "What the hell is this?! I wouldn't wear this to my own funeral!"

Popuri laughed, "They aren't very creative, are they?"

Being that her mother was a world famous designer, she expected a certain level of…quality. This was not the quality of Yagada so she was probably being a little snooty.

"Well, in all the years I've done it, you can add little things. I wouldn't go making it a tube top or anything unless you know what you're doing."

Jill walked to Popuri's desk and cut the sleeves off with a mischievous grin. "I _have_ to know what I'm doing with who my mother is, Popuri."

Popuri snickered, "Yea, I'll leave that fancy stuff to you. I usually just add some flowers. I made this thing a tube top, the girls are busting out to party."

Laughing, Jill folded the dress back up, "Oh no, I understand. You have a lot more to account for than I do."

She was quite busty. Like, _very_ busty. Popuri was curved like an absolute hourglass too. It was _crazy_ how much she was Jill's brother's type. It was just… _unnatural_. Somehow she hadn't had the heart to ask if Popuri…actually remembered though.

"Well, you're not _that_ flat. I'm sure Cliff will love it" Popuri teased.

Jill blushed and glowered at her, pouting. Cliff…he'd seemed rather depressed when he thought she had a date to this thing and then he'd been so happy to ask her. What did it all mean?

Did Cliff…feel the same way she did?

XXX

Popuri came and practiced the dance with her all day that week up until the day before. On Saturday, Jill woke up extra early to get her chores done so she'd have extra time to get ready. She pulled on her dress, pleased with the sewing and extra embroidering she did to make the top more like an empire style. Maybe even her mama would be impressed.

She placed flowers through her hair before staring at herself in the mirror and chuckling. She should take a picture and send it to her brothers to freak them out.

A knock at her door interrupted her thoughts and she rushed to get it. Her eyes widened.

Cliff stood there wearing a black dress shirt and a pair of dark colored jeans that didn't look like he'd just thrown them on. His hair was down and his neck was accented by a leather necklace with a tribal symbol. So Cliff could look hotter. He ran his fingers through his hair before he looked down. His eyes widened. "O-Oh."

She smiled shyly, "I look okay?"

"Okay...?"

She stared at him in confusion before a large smile crossed his face, "Okay isn't good enough. But you should know that."

He grabbed her hand and winked playfully. "Ready to go stir up some trouble?"

"Oh no..." she groaned.

"I don't mean that kind of trouble, silly."

...Oh no.

XXX

The traditional dance went over well enough. She kind of became the center of attention, unwittingly, which angered some of the other girls. It wasn't _intentional_. Oh well, the important part was…time to party!

Both her and Popuri were grinding against Cliff, who at first was a bit sheepish but lightened up, of course. What she liked most about him, really. The older adults scolded their little spectacle out on the dance floor but it wasn't like their kids weren't doing similar. She guessed that was kind of the issue with local events: everyone was present.

Jill's eyes caught Ann's, who was giving her a rather dirty look. What? Popuri giggled suddenly, leaving from behind Cliff. Jill blinked at her then noticed a slow song had come on. She blushed and Cliff took her hand.

"Come on. You're not shy, are ya?" he teased lightly.

"Of course not" she scoffed, still blushing.

He placed an arm around her waist and she fought back blushing more. She carefully put her arm around his waist. It was one of those magical moments she hadn't believed in up until that second. She rested her cheek on his chest and closed her eyes as she listened to his heart. She felt his chin on the top of her head.

At that moment, she was sure she couldn't get any happier.

XX

 _Popuri watched the two happily as they danced, sipping some of the punch. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ann and Mary, standing close enough for her to hear them._

" _Look at that" scowled Mary._

" _Hmph" muttered Ann._

" _Why are you letting her steal your man?" questioned Mary._

" _My man? I'm really not all that interested in Cliff though" said Ann airily._

 _Popuri was relieved. That just meant that Jill could pursue now that Cliff was interested too._

" _But, just for the hell of it."_

 _Eh? Popuri watched in shock as Ann started to walk toward Cliff and Jill. Alarmed, she started to go after her when Mary stopped her._

" _Now shouldn't you be getting home? I wouldn't want Rick to worry."_

 _Popuri gaped at her, knowing she couldn't really smack the woman out of the way in this crowd, but…she gritted her teeth. Damn._

It was all too perfect. She wanted it to stay like this forever.

"Cliff?" she murmured softly.

"Hmm?" he said, his voice calm.

"What do you t-"

Her question was cut off by a tap on her shoulder. She turned around, sort of expecting Popuri, but instead…Ann? Ann pretended to smile at them, the gesture almost _too_ fake.

"Hi, Cliff" she said, completely ignoring Jill.

"Um, he-hey, Ann. Wh-What's up?" he faltered.

"Oh, nothing. Just a little confused, usually you ask _me_ to dance" she pouted.

"O-Oh yea, th-that's true."

Jill glanced at him as he got all shy with Ann who was literally just smiling at him. She gulped and blurted out suddenly.

"Um, why don't you two dance? I'll...I'll just go home. I have work to do and I have to get up early, so...um, you can have him" she replied quickly.

She winced at her own words and Ann smiled, "Why, how generous of you."

"Jill-" started Cliff.

She rushed off, not wanting to hear anything he had to say. She wasn't mad at him. He hadn't asked her to give him up to Ann. She was just upset that…he never really seemed tongue-tied because of her. She blinked back tears and ran as quickly as she could from the square. She guessed they _were_ just friends.

She ran blindly, just wanting to get back to her farm and never leave, absolutely embarrassed. Following that intention alone, she ran right into what felt like a brick wall. She gasped and started to fall back. Heels weren't good for maintaining balance, she realized.

Arms reached out and wrapped around her waist, capturing her. She winced and touched whoever it was' chest. She gasped.

"I'm...I'm sorry!" she apologized.

She looked up and breathed, startled. He had brown skin with chocolate eyes, wearing a purple bandana around black curly bangs that hung randomly on his forehead. Dressed in a white t-shirt, a pair of blue cargo shorts, and flip flops, he looked like a lifeguard. He tilted his head and stared down at her.

"It's cool. You good?"

She straightened up and patted at her dress, mostly because she was embarrassed. Her cheeks were flushed and she mumbled. "A-Ah, yes. I'm sorry..."

"Jill!"

She didn't turn her head to even glance at the owner of the voice. Cliff... she felt his presence behind her and felt him huffing for breath.

"Jill, wha...why'd ya' leave?" he wheezed.

"Don't you want to be with Ann?" she said, more sardonic than she meant to be.

"What? No! I-I mean, not-not _really_ -"

He stopped and she finally turned to glance at him. She was surprised by the look on his face. It was a mixture between irritation and...territorial? The look was rather disturbing as it went directly against what she understood about him. She backed away slowly. The guy behind her laughed.

"What an idiot. Letting your date run off so you can be with _that_ chick. This one right here is smoking hot compared to Ann."

She turned to glance at him, suddenly wondering _exactly_ who he was as she hadn't seen him around before. She blushed some at his comment and Cliff growled.

"Shut up and mind your own business, Kai."

Kai, she guessed was his name, waved his hands, "Well, excuse me! If you _did_ let her bounce for _Ann,_ that is an injustice. But I'll stay out of it."

He continued back up the street and winked. "If you want a man with eyes and common sense, miss, I live on the beach during the summer. Drop by some time"

Jill just kind of stared at his back in shock. Wow. A sound beside her interrupted her thoughts and she turned to glance at the source. Cliff...was growling, his eye twitching. She gulped and turned away from him. She started to feel extremely uncomfortable. Who was this? This wasn't Cliff, was it? His angry features melted suddenly then he turned and gave her a serious look.

"Stay away from him."

Her eyes widened before they narrowed and she stepped closer to him, staring directly into his face.

"Who are you to tell me who to stay away from?" she demanded.

He frowned and shook his head, "Just listen to me! He's a bad guy! I'm trying to protect you!"

Oh, _hell no_. She had _five of those_ back home. "And who asked you to protect me?"

She stomped past him and he followed her quickly.

"Where are you going?" he questioned.

"Home" she grumbled in response.

He caught her elbow and at her current level of stress, that was not a smart move. She swung around and slapped his hand away. His eyes widened, startled. All her senses told her to beg for forgiveness. She didn't mean to. He released her, rubbing the back of his hand.

"What's even going on, Jill? What's the problem?" he asked slowly.

She gulped. "My...problem?"

She felt tears sting her eyes. This was all a little too new to her. Even the two boyfriends she'd had were more basic than this. They just passed a note asking her to be their girlfriend, really. Here, she didn't know if she was supposed to confess to him her feelings or wait for him to do so. If she confessed, she knew he wouldn't feel the same. He liked Ann. But, of course, if he did like Ann, he wouldn't ever confess to her. It was a lose-lose situation. She turned on her heel, walking away. Cliff stopped following her and finally murmured. "Jill..."

She stopped and glanced back at him, not knowing what to expect. She hoped…

"...Really. Stay away from him."

Her mouth fell open, shocked. She turned her head back forward, biting back the stinging tears of heartbreak, and ran off again, screaming, "Go to hell!"

And that was the End of the best Spring of her life.

 **End Notes**

I don't own Korn's A.D.I.D.A.S

I don't own Britney Spears 'Slave 4 U' 


	3. Reassessment

**Chapter 3** : Reassessment

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own Harvest Moon.

 **Author's Note** **2018** : I actually had to delete this note because I dunno what the hell I was saying.

XXX

Jill sat distractedly by her window, staring out at the rain. She wasn't sure if she should consider rain a blessing or a curse. It saved her time and it properly watered her plants but it gave her so much time to herself as well.

Hugging her knees, she closed her eyes and sighed. She hadn't seen Cliff since summer started. It had been nearly a month. She twirled her fingers around her hair and winced as their last moments together flashed through her head. It was impossible for her to have a good thing, wasn't it?

Feeling blistering tears rest in her eyes, she rapidly shook her head and sniffed. She would not cry, not for Cliff, not for anyone. She'd gotten along fine without a 'love interest' before and it was no different now. Her heart weighed heavy in her chest, her throat tight … but then, why did it still hurt so bad?

She jumped when the shrill of her telephone interrupted her thoughts and sighed heavily, crossing the room to retrieve it. It was probably Popuri. She wanted to fix this thing between Cliff and Jill…but Jill knew that only they could fix this. Pressing the phone to her ear, she murmured, melancholy.

"Hello…?"

"…Wow, you sound cheerful."

She gasped, startled to hear the voice of her older brother. She'd been meaning to give him a call about _her_ but she hadn't known how to word it. "Koji?"

"The one and only. What's up? I feel like s—t, I haven't been able to call you in f—king months and that is not how I do things."

Seriously. She was honestly shocked she'd only really heard from her mom and dad. As protective as her brothers were, four months of no communication was an infinity.

"I'm here too, princess!"

"Nelly" she smiled some.

"Actually, we're all here. Mom wanted us home for dinner" Shaun replied.

"She doesn't want _me_ home for dinner" muttered Jill.

"Damn, is it that bad?" questioned Koji.

"It's hell…"

"I'm sorry, kid."

She sat on her couch and toyed with her hair again, sighing. "I'm not being fair. I had the best time when it was spring."

"Those summer doldrums getting to you?" replied Shin.

"I wish it was just that…"

"Then what is it? I've never heard you so down, Jill…" said Tony, her twin brother, slowly.

"It's a guy named Cliff. We sort of had an argument and it's got me a little depressed."

The silence that ensued was only warranted because it was _them_. "Guys-"

"A _guy_? A _guy_ has you depressed?" Nelly demanded.

Talk quick, Jill, Cliff's life was on the line. "W-We just had a little disagreement, is all. He's-he's kind of like you guys, he's protective!"

"…So just some guy friend?" said Tony slowly.

"Yea-"

"The hell _ever_ , sister, what the f—k sort of 'guy friend' gets annoyingly 'protective' after four damn months?" Koji scoffed loudly, "Who is he? What does he do?

"Koji! He is _just a friend_!" she groaned, "Why can't I have guy friends?! You guys have girlfriends!"

They all grumbled noncommittedly as she rolled her eyes. Sometimes she really wished she'd had at least _one_ sister. Shin cleared his throat, "So what is it that this Cliff fellow did then, Jill?

"He tried to tell me who not to talk to."

"Welp," Nelly said dryly, sounding like he was cracking his knuckles, "Sounds like we might be making a trip tonight."

" _Nelly._ Guys, _really,_ it was just this once he tried to control me. I…I'm being silly. He's not a big deal, none of this is a big deal" she muttered, shaking her head.

"Jill, if it isn't such a 'big deal', why do you sound so hurt?" Koji demanded.

She gawked a little before biting down on her trembling lip, tears spilling in her eyes. Finally, she just found herself weeping.

"Koji!" snapped Tony angrily, "You've-you've made her cry!"

Tony sounded extremely distraught. Jill wasn't one to cry, at least not in front of them or for them to hear. She could feel it bother her twin so she quickly wiped her eyes and killed her sobbing, soft hicks rising from her throat as she tried to talk.

"It's-it's okay, Tony. I'm all right" she managed, her voice muffled.

"You don't f—king sound like it! If you have that sort of 'friend' that's gonna make you sad like this, f—k him!"

"Jill, just say the word and we'll come get you or something. The farm has been sitting there for two years anyway, it can wait until one of us is out of school to go maintain it until it can be sold or whatever" Koji offered.

She rubbed away the remaining tears and sniffled before lifting her chin. "No."

"No?" demanded Tony.

"I've set my mind to this job now and I won't quit. Not for some guy I can do without. I don't need you guys to rescue me either. You…you guys were right. I needed this."

There was a hesitant silence before Nelly spoke up. "Jill, you know above anyone else we love you so don't just sit there being tortured with stuff just because we're not there. We're always here for you, kid."

"Yes, don't think we won't be there for you in a second if you need us" murmured Shin.

Jill smiled, patting her knee, "I know you would. I…I just want to try to do this a little on my own. You guys have always been there and I do appreciate it. Just I _do_ want to say I accomplished this."

"Well, I believe in you" said Shaun encouragingly, "But really, like Nell said, don't be a stranger or anything. Drop me a line when you need to talk…don't think you have to face it alone to accomplish stuff."

"Yes" agreed Shin.

"Thank you. I miss you guys now" she smiled, rubbing her sticky face.

"Aww, you didn't miss us before?" teased Nelly.

"Of course I did" she chuckled.

Koji was probably making a dark face, her _very_ protective older brother. He'd…he'd been protecting her the longest of any of them, honestly. Smiling brightly though he couldn't see it, she gushed, "Really, Ko-chan, you know I'd reach out to you if it was something really big. It's not. It's just…friendly petty bickering."

"…If you say so" he grumbled.

"Uh, I will actually call you later about something else though!"

"…Okay."

She stood, taking a breath, "You guys enjoy your time with mom. I'm going to make it."

"I know you will" assured Koji softly, "I love you."

They all echoed the same sentiments, except Tony, and she smiled.

"I love all of you too."

She noticed the line hadn't gone completely dead. She frowned.

"…Tony?" She could feel him there…

Clearing her throat, she murmured, "I'll be fine, Tony. You know I will."

"…Okay. Be careful, Jill…I love you."

She sighed, "I will. Love you too."

Finally turning the phone off, she stood, feeling renewed. She would shed no more tears over this flighty thing. Like Koji said, it was just _four months_. Cliff…was nothing but a memory now.

Abruptly a cold shiver rushed down her back and her heart felt heavy. Her eyes closed some, sadly. No. For whatever reason, Cliff would always be more than a memory.

XXX

Jill, sweating profusely, brushed her cow and smiled warmly at her. It took a while but all of her animals were starting to like her a lot more. It had been a different experience learning how to care for all of them but it felt fulfilling that they were so comfortable now.

Pulling her gloves off, she rubbed her brow with the back of her hand. She'd been working outside for hours though, having finished all her chores in no time. She was now just doing some quick brushing since she had the time. She hadn't realized that her spending so much time with Cliff was making her spend much more time out in the field than was necessary.

Alas, Jill had to say, even though it had only been four months, she really would never trade her moments with Cliff. And then, she really didn't want to make it seem so…final. She did want to fix things with Cliff but she wasn't sure how.

"Yea, I think I do like this new addition to this crappy town" said a voice.

She jumped and looked behind her, utterly startled. Leaning back against the shipping bin was the one that basically started all this, Kai. He was smiling for whatever reason. Jill swallowed and quickly turned back to her work, intent on ignoring the man.

"Aww, don't be like that. I'm sorry I butted in on whatever you and blondie were discussing."

Glaring back at him, she mumbled, "Did you need something?"

"Word on the streets say that, without you, this town would still have to import pineapple. Can you hook me up? Market's selling out fast."

Jill was startled. It was rather satisfying to know she had made a difference in this tiny little town, no matter how minor. She nodded simply and walked out of the barn toward the greenhouse. He followed and watched as she retrieved some.

"How many?"

"Three, preferably."

Placing them in a bag she had nearby, she handed them to him and he looked impressed.

"Fresh too? Nice work. This climate isn't right for pineapple."

"I manage" she said shortly.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing" she mumbled. She didn't want his money…

"Really? Then how about a night out on the town?"

She muttered bluntly, "No thanks."

"Come on, you're too young to be stuck on some old farm by yourself all the time. One night. I promise, I only bite when I'm asked" he winked.

She flushed and mumbled, "I-I dunno…"

"This is about Cliff, isn't it? My bad, I didn't know you two were so close."

Jill stiffened and her face got firm, "We are not—j-just come back at 7, I'll be ready."

He grinned widely, "Perfect. I'll see you then."

She groaned as he walked off. Why was she going out with this guy who was obviously a flirt? So she can prove that she didn't care about Cliff when in truth she did?

Once she finished her work, she idly took a shower and blow dried her hair. She found her black hip huggers and studded belt with the chain and a sort of chesty tank top. No need to be too fancy, she supposed. It…it wasn't a date, after all.

Putting on a chain necklace that one of her siblings got her, she took a deep breath when there was a knock at the door. Just a night on the town, nothing serious. There wasn't even really a town to have a night with anyway.

Kai was on the other side, wearing a white tee, jeans, and some leather shoes, his bandana wrapped so his dark curly tresses were showing. Well, it…it wasn't like he wasn't cute. He looked surprised, "Oh wow, you look great."

"Thanks" she mumbled, rubbing her arm, "So, I just thought about it: where exactly are we going?"

"The only place in town, missy: Doug's Inn and Bar" he smiled.

…Oh no.

XXX

Cliff sat on the stool in Doug's bar and slammed his mug down heavily, his body swaying a little as he hiccupped lightly.

"Top me off, Doug."

The tavern keeper stared at him and shook his head, "I think you've had enough, son."

"Don't give me that BS…" mumbled Cliff.

The man sighed and took the glass, filling it with beer, and handed it back to Cliff. Cliff swallowed the burning ale in a couple gulps and slammed it down on the counter once more. Letting his head drop onto the table, he was silent, listening to the bustling atmosphere of the bar slash inn. Doug stared at Cliff as he occasionally hiccupped but otherwise was mute. Finally clearing his throat, Doug questioned casually as he cleaned the mug, "Something wrong?"

"No, I just drink like this because it makes me happy" said Cliff shortly.

"You and every man in here" Doug fired back.

Cliff sighed, defeated "…Sorry. You're right…it's her."

"Look, Cliff, Ann is-" started Doug.

"Not Ann" he scowled, "Jill."

"Jill? Oh, your little groupie."

Cliff lazily stared at the refilled glass placed in front of him before picking it up and pressing the glass to his lips.

"She wasn't my groupie" he muttered before sipping.

"Well, what happened with her?"

"Ugh, we got into an argument over Kai…"

Doug visibly stiffened and growled, "Kai?"

"Yea. I told her to stay away, that he's no good! And she took it as me controlling her. I guess I came off a little strong but I was just advising her, you know?"

"You know women and that Kai, Cliff, they love him for whatever reason" the older man rolled his eyes.

Cliff grunted and finished his drink before sighing heavily. "She was one of my few friends."

"Then go tell her you were just looking out for her instead of sitting here and getting drunk" Doug suggested.

Cliff toyed shyly with his hair, "She won't even talk to me…"

"Then-" Doug started before stopping, looking toward the door, wide-eyed.

"Then what?" Cliff mumbled.

"Um…"

"What?" demanded Cliff.

The man tossed his head to the left toward the entrance as he cleaned another mug. Cliff raised an eyebrow before he realized he was telling him to look over his shoulder. Cliff turned around and pretty much choked.

There was Jill and Kai, walking side by side…

…Together.

His mouth dropped when he saw what Jill was wearing. Cliff couldn't help but let his eyes wander before flushing deeply. Kai was talking to her and she was just nodding. What was going on? Feeling his blood boil with rage, he stood quickly and Doug quickly hissed, "Sit down! You'll make things worse going over there drunk!"

Cliff seethed but followed the man's advice and sat back down, glaring at the two over his shoulder. They had seated themselves at a booth in the far back. Cliff clenched his fist, unsure how else to channel his rage besides beating the crap out of Kai.

He reached into his pocket and threw down some gold pieces, growling lowly as he stomped away to his room.

He didn't want to see this. He didn't want to see her get hurt.

XXX

"So your parents forced you into this? Isn't that against some law?" Kai questioned.

She snickered, "Child labor laws?"

"I mean, that doesn't count anymore. Like…slavery?"

Jill gaped, "I mean, I would be very reluctant to call it anything like _that_. I have not been enslaved to do it. I'm pretty sure I can go home when I want. They just didn't want me sitting around doing nothing and they were right."

"Oh, believe me, I know all about parents wanting to make sure you're spending your time wisely" his eyes quirked as he folded his hands on the table.

The more she was staring at him, the more…familiar he seemed in an odd way. He looked like one of her mom's friend's husband. She couldn't remember his name…Zann or something? But that sounded weird. She'd try the mom. "Um, about that, actually, do you know a Harumi?"

He stared at her, bewildered, "…You know my mom?"

"O-oh! Uh, our mom's know each other, actually? I think they sort of grew up together."

Kai rubbed his chin, "…Mom does know that one Yagami lady that does all the designer clothes."

"That's my mom" Jill laughed some.

"Huh. Small world" Kai mused, "Well, my dad is the sternest artist I know. He definitely made sure I had 'goals' which pretty much amounted to me running a snack shop on the various beaches in the area."

Jill frowned, "Well, my parents definitely wanted me to _find_ my goal but they weren't particularly stern about it."

"If I remember correctly, our…parentage has some mathematical similarities but different…cultural variations. Might have been a bit different."

While she was able to gather what he meant, she found herself smirking, "Actually, taking into account the mathematical similarities and cultural variations, I probably still should have been forced to have a goal before I got sent off to the farm."

He laughed, "Yea, you're right."

Ann sauntered over and blinked at them curiously. Jill seethed and balled her fists. Ann had been another factor in this Cliff incident too, hadn't she? The redhead sneered at her.

"What can I get you two?"

Jill started to just order water when Kai replied, "Two Sex on the Beach."

Jill's eyes widened, familiar with the drink only because Nelly and Koji made all kinds of innuendos about the alcoholic beverage and drank it often. Those two were the Kings of Drinking. Ann raised an eyebrow but wrote it down.

"Oh yea, and some pizza too. Shouldn't drink on an empty stomach" Kai smiled pleasantly.

Ann walked away and Kai snickered. "She'll probably spit in our drinks."

Jill cringed, "Maybe…"

She almost kind of hoped she would. Jill was a _very_ lightweight when it came to drinking and would use any excuse she could to get out of it. She probably couldn't even handle a sip. Suddenly, to her surprise, she noticed Cliff storming off up the stairs to the side. Frowning, she winced. Yea, this definitely was going to make things worse. Kai followed her eyes.

"Wow, he's mad."

"Yes…" she mumbled.

"But c'mon, have I done _anything_ really to offend you?" he questioned.

"Not really, no" Jill admitted.

"They hate me because their wives and stuff like me. I mean, c'mon!" he proclaimed.

Jill nodded, "The only thing I could think of is they're worried about you having an affair with their wives?"

"I'll admit, their wives are pretty hot."

She couldn't help but laugh, "You ever think that might be why?"

"Hey, they may be hot, but I don't go around wooing other men's wives."

"Did you just say 'wooing'?" she snickered.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't" he joked.

"I think you did" she grinned lightly.

"Either way" he chuckled, "They ought to trust their women a little more anyway. Maybe they think I'm cute or something but would it hurt those poor women to have a little fun every once in a while? I only come for a season and they like what they see."

Jill smirked, "Depends what kind of 'fun' you're talking about."

"Oh, not _that_ kind of fun, seriously. But, if you, a young _single_ woman are feeling particularly curious…" he winked suggestively.

She blushed, "I'll have to pass."

He grinned, "You will now…but let's see if your opinion changes later."

She stared at him and nodded some. She had to say, for the most part, this hadn't been bad, not at all. Cliff just didn't want to take the time out to get to know Kai. Besides, he was kind of cute…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **End Notes:** I'm just going to say it now: Kai is mixed race in this series. He is not going for the 'southern islander' thing this time, he's black and Asian. Now, those new to the series, this world encompasses ALL the worlds of the game series and even attached titles such as Rune Factory. My thing is to make everyone interconnected so, yes, Kai's father is Zann from Hero of Leaf Valley. He does not…look like that, however.


	4. The Tomato Festival

**Chapter 5** : The Tomato Festival

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own Harvest Moon.

XXX

Cliff seethed when he saw Jill and Kai walking down the path, holding hands and laughing. He wanted to seriously murder Kai right now. It had been a month and the two seemed so…"couple-y". They seemed to go to the beach every day and hang out at his place. Cliff cringed. He prayed that they weren't…doing anything. Not that that was any of his business but that's _all_ Kai would want. Letting out a heavy breath, he turned and jumped when he saw Popuri standing right behind him, her arms crossed.

"Grow a spine and talk to Jill" she grunted.

"What-"

"Talk to her! I've tried to convince her to talk to you but she thinks you're avoiding her."

"How do you know I'm not?" he muttered.

"Why?!"

"She looks perfectly happy with Kai. I don't want to butt in" he said curtly.

"Cliff…" she shook her head.

"It's fine. If she's happier in his company than in mine then I'm happy for her" he mumbled.

He walked away, not wanting to hear any more about going to talk things out or whatever. Really, what was there to say that already hadn't been said? He was worried about her dating that guy and she thought he was controlling her. What was left to be said?

…Right?

XX

 _Popuri watched as Cliff stalked off with his hands in his pockets before sighing and rolling her eyes, stroking the necklace at her neck. It wasn't like whole decades of wisdom but she could definitely tell she was dealing with younger people with this. She had no problem with Kai but she knew how Jill felt about Cliff. Cliff being wishy-washy got him here_

 _Oh well, time would tell._

"Jill…" sang Kai.

She glanced back at him as she tilled the ground and he grinned, eying her. "There you are in those overalls again. What is it with you and overalls?"

She smirked, "I do have to work, Kai. I don't want to get good clothes dirty and ripped."

"I guess that wouldn't be good" he sighed, "But still…"

She turned back to start to pick her flourishing crops, feeling rather proud of herself. Spring had been difficult because she'd never planted a thing in her entire life. But now she had beautiful ripe tomatoes and full, golden corn. With her newly acquired green thumb, she considered planting a cherry blossom tree in the corner. She looked up and swallowed. Cliff told her he loved cherry blossoms…

Suddenly Kai came and wrapped his arms around her waist, releasing her from her reveries. Kissing her cheek lightly, he whispered into her ear.

"Hey, I was thinking maybe we could go to my place tonight."

Jill knew what Kai was alluding to and she blushed, pouting lightly. "Kai, c'mon, I told you before."

"I know, you're nervous! But promise, I'll be gentle."

Jill sighed, "I mean, that's not my concern, Kai…"

She would be lying to herself if she didn't admit she was a little interested. But that seemed like a big step for someone she just met. Kai was a nice guy, she thought, but she wasn't sure if she wanted to do that with him just yet. Of course, basing off of what she observed of her brothers, they should have screwed on the first date.

Kai shrugged lightly and released her waist. He then grinned again, "Hey, tomorrow's the Tomato Festival. Wanna go?"

"Tomato Festival? What kind of festival is that?" she wrinkled her nose.

She imagined everyone standing around eating various things made out of tomatoes and that was about all…didn't seem too entertaining. As if reading her mind, Kai laughed.

"Silly, the Tomato Festival is a hardcore sport."

"…What?"

"Everyone uses the tomatoes like water balloons and throw them at each other. It's fun."

"Throwing acidic tomatoes at each other is fun? I think I might pass…" she scoffed.

"We could. And just stay here-" he started.

"On _second_ thought, that Tomato Festival sounds sweet!"

XXX

Cliff stared as people anxiously awaited the start of the festival. It had been tradition that people would team up in threes but that had sort of been forgotten in the new era. Cliff groaned and wondered why he'd even bothered to come. Then he sighed again. No, he knew: because he wanted to see Jill, that's why.

And _not_ with Kai.

He wanted to talk to her. He needed to fix things, like Popuri said, and at least try to persuade her that Kai was not how he seemed. He looked up and was glad to see her entering…with Kai at her side. He muffled an angry growl. This was ridiculous! Finally, after a moment, he decided that it didn't matter if Kai was there or not. Walking over to her, he found himself stopping when Kai pulled her flush against his chest and kissed her. Cliff felt his mouth fall open and go incredibly dry. She blushed and giggled a little, pulling away.

"Stop, silly, we're in public."

Ignoring her, Kai kissed her neck and Cliff clenched his eyes shut and slowly walked away from the two. He could not believe she was this… blind. Walking over to a wall, he slammed his fist into it, not sure where to put his aggravation. Popuri wandered over and glanced back at the kissing pair.

"Wow, aren't they gutsy?"

"Popuri, I really don't-"

Popuri blinked languidly at him, "You're only angry because that's not you all over her like that."

Cliff looked up, aghast, "What! T-That is _not_ the reason I am angry! She's with that-that guy! He is freakin' no good and no one can see it!"

She smirked, "So you're saying you're not even a teeny bit jealous, Cliff?"

"Not even a speck of jealousy" he said haughtily.

She snickered, "If you say so, Cliff."

Walking off, he rolled his eyes. Jealous? It wasn't that at all. He just didn't want to see her get hurt like he knew she would be if this kept up. Mayor Thomas suddenly was on the podium, top hat and all.

"Attention, all! We will be commencing the festival!"

Everyone went silent and listened as the mayor explained the game.

"There are no 'winners' as everyone's a winner here."

He heard Popuri and Jill snicker somewhere in the background. He rolled his eyes. It did sound like they were back in kindergarten.

"The goal is to use all ten dozen of these crates of ripe tomatoes. When I sound the whistle, let the melee begin!"

One of the elders in the village scoffed, "I remember when there was order to this festival. Those were the days."

Her companion agreed and Cliff had to wonder if that hadn't been a better way. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea to put a hundred people in one place and give them the freedom to fling tomatoes at whomever they wanted but oh well. Slowly creeping back into the shadows, he scoffed. He wasn't in the mood now. Maybe he could escape before anyone noticed…

"Begin!"

Or not.

Everyone rushed and snatched up the tomatoes, flinging them wildly at each other and Cliff already felt about five or six whiz at him. This was a festival for his enemies, that was for sure.

Dodging quickly, he jumped, leaped, stumbled, and everything to dodge the flying fruits. The exit wasn't far away and he could see a good escape route…then a tomato came out of absolute nowhere and hit him directly in the face. He hissed as it ruptured, the juices getting slightly into his eyes. Pulling the tomato off his nose, he wiped at his face, tearing up a little before looking for the offender…

It was no other than Kai.

A cocky grin was on his face as he bounced a tomato up and down in his hand. Per his white shirt, it looked like he'd gotten massacred as well.

"Why Cliff, wherever are you going?"

Cliff narrowed his eyes, "I was just leaving…"

"I see. Too bad."

"'Too bad' what?" grunted Cliff.

"Why, you're going to miss my little proclamation to Jill, of course…"

"Oh?" said Cliff shortly.

"I'm going to tell her I love her."

Cliff's eyes widened and he swallowed hard. "That's a big step for a player…"

"Isn't it though? Might help her to put out."

Cliff felt his eyes narrow more. "…What are you talking about?"

"I know where she's coming from, Cliff, we're practically from the same type of family. She wants security and feelings and to know I'm not just some fly by night kind of guy. I tell her I love her, she might feel comfortable enough for at least some head" he smiled too casually.

Cliff gawked for a minute before balling up his fists, clenching them so hard his fingernails were drawing blood from his palms.

"Don't you dare touch her, you son of a-"

"Or what? You're just full of s-t, Cliff. That's why there's actually a _chance_ she'll be screaming my name tonight and not yours."

That cut Cliff's already short fuse and he dove forward, punching Kai as hard as he possibly could in the face, rage taking over entirely. The man fell backward in shock and Cliff seethed, huffing as he grew more furious with every passing second.. But Kai was back to retaliate rather quickly, returning Cliff's punch to the face with his own.

Cliff stumbled backwards and again dove forward, tackling Kai to the ground. Taking his momentary dominance to good use, he pummeled Kai in the face before Kai gained his senses, returning each and every one of Cliff's punches. Everybody had stopped their fight to watch the real one ensuing with horrified delight. Jill quickly rushed toward them and squeaked, shocked. She tugged Kai's arm as he was about to attack Cliff more.

"Kai, stop it!" she screamed.

Kai finally stood and wiped the blood from his lips, grunting. Cliff sat up, also wiping the blood from his broken lip. Surprising him, Jill reached out her hand to help him up. Eh? She…she didn't hate him? He stared at her hand and slowly reached out, cautious as if she might withdraw.

"Why are you helping him?! Look what he did to me!" Kai snapped.

Cliff glared at him as Jill tugged, assisting him to his feet. "Kai, please. What are you two even _fighting_ over?"

"Blond bomber here started it!"

"You ass, _I_ started it?!" snapped Cliff.

"Sounds about right!"

Cliff started to dodge forward again but Jill quickly stopped him, holding him back. He quivered with anger before he noticed that Jill was touching him. Swallowing, he stared down at her, his eyes pleading.

"Why don't you believe me? He is _no_ good! You didn't hear what he said about you!"

"He's lying, Jill" grunted Kai.

"Jill, I don't want him to hurt you. Please" Cliff whispered.

"Shut up. If I remember correctly, it was _you_ who hurt Jill, not me" scoffed Kai.

Jill took a step away from both of them and hugged her arms, quiet. Cliff was ready to fight again…until suddenly Jill bolted away. "E-Eh? Jill!" 

Everyone was startled as she took off and ran away as fast as she could, not turning back. Popuri shoved through the crowd and called after her, following.

Cliff miserably stared at his feet and stuffed his hands into his pockets before heading back to the inn without another word. Kai pursed his lips and walked toward the beach, leaving some very intrigued village people.

She…she didn't deserve any of this.

XXX

Yagami Koji and his roommates Tosho Domon and Motosuwa Keiba wandered into their apartment building after a long night of drinking and partying. It was…fun, Koji supposed. No, it _was_ fun, he just was starting to think maybe there were other options for a Saturday night.

Keiba staggered into a wall, hiccupping. "L-Leve's me here to die, I can'th go no further."

With a smirk, Koji grabbed his longtime friend's arm, dragging him the one door left they had. "We don't leave comrades behind, soldier."

Domon snickered, rubbing his face, "Yea, maybe we shouldn't wage this battle all the time."

Seriously. Koji put his key in the door, yawning, and plotted to make his 'anti-hangover' brew before sleeping like the dead. Instead, he paused when there was someone sitting on the couch in their living room in the dark.

Domon and Keiba jumped but Koji's _first_ instinct was to beat the living hell out of the intruder. However, as he got closer, he became alarmed. "Jill?" 

His only baby sister looked up, her blue eyes lost. Oh hell. He rushed to her and pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair. She smelled kind of like vinegar so he wondered what exactly was going on.

"Koji…" she whispered.

"Princess, what's happening? What are you doing out here?" he asked softly.

"…I think I finally realize why you guys were such pricks about me dating: Men _are_ assholes" Jill droned.

Koji leered as she buried her face in her hands, finding his 'sensibilities' were already on postal. "And what are these 'asshole' men _doing_ that brings you across water away from them?"

"Nothing…"

"Nothing, my _ass_. I bet it's that 'Cliff' punk again, isn't it?"

She trembled and he was ready for blood. Keiba staggered in, still drunk, sitting on the other end of the couch. "Jilly…I will play angel to your brother's inevitable violent devil when uh' sober up. You may as well stay here."

Jill smiled weakly and hugged his waist, "Thanks, Kibby.

Keiba was one of Koji's oldest friends. He used to hang around back at the mansion and Jill had followed him almost religiously, calling him 'Kibby' when she was a child. Keiba returned the endearment by calling her 'Jiji' and 'Jilly'. Koji was certain for a while she had had a crush on him and maybe something else he was begrudgingly able to accept…but now there was 'Cliff'.

Yep. Inevitable violent devil indeed was surfacing.

XXX

"Jill!"

Cliff, Popuri, and, unfortunately, Kai were running around in search of the missing Jill. Cliff stopped and shook his head, extremely worried. It was that idiot Kai that came by, looking a bit concerned or whatever he was capable of pretending to be, asking if Jill was there. No? He thought she ran off to her farm but apparently not.

"This is all my fault…" he whispered.

"Glad you realize that now" Kai uttered.

Cliff gritted his teeth and Popuri came between the two.

"Will you two stop it? No one's seen Jill since last night. God, keep your head in the game!"

Marching forward a little past them, she stopped and muttered. "Where _haven't_ we looked?'

"I don't know…" murmured Cliff.

"Hey, maybe she left town" Kai suddenly offered.

They both turned back to him, surprised, before Popuri shook her head.

"She wouldn't do that…" then she stopped, "Would she?"

"I mean, hell, she's got like a billion brothers she can run off to complain to about this. This hellhole certainly isn't her only option" Kai shrugged.

Popuri frowned, "…I…I guess that does make sense though."

But…was she coming _back_? Did she just leave? No, she wouldn't do that. Jill had responsibilities here and she took them very seriously. Biting his lip, Cliff closed his eyes and sighed heavily. And here he was, busy distracting her from them. Jill…

XXX

Yagami Nelly sighed and rubbed his temples as he headed up the steps of the apartment. Their mother had called him, concerned. Apparently Koji hadn't picked up his phone last night and she was now sending Nelly to check on him. He grumbled, frustrated. It wasn't enough that his twin had to go to a different college fifty minutes away but Nelly was constantly sent on missions by his mother to check on him. He sighed again, miserable. Finally coming to the door, he rang the doorbell and waited. After three minutes, there wasn't even a hint of movement.

"Keiba, Koji, Domon, one of you _better_ get up and open this door!" he snapped.

He was short tempered right now. Most likely like his twin, he'd spent most of the night drinking and partying. Finally, the door opened and Keiba appeared, his auburn hair disheveled and deep sacks underneath his eyes. Without a word, he shuffled back over to his room. Nelly entered the apartment to head to Koji's bedroom.

He saw Koji in his bed underneath the window, sleeping with his back turned away from him. Okay, he was fine. Now it was time to go all the way back across town and sleep the whole day. Rolling his eyes, he started to turn but then noticed that Koji's bed looked kind of lumpy. Oh, who did he have in bed this time? Wandering to peek, just out of curiosity, he was very surprised.

"Jill?"

The girl was curled up against Koji heavily who was probably dead to the world. Her cheeks were tear stained and he felt himself wince. His poor Jilly He sighed and nudged Koji. Koji finally flinched and opened his eyes, rubbing them sleepily.

"Nelly?"

"Hey, mom was worried. Something about you not picking up your cell last night."

"Yeah? Tell mom she should put that much effort into calling her daughter more" he grunted, sitting up carefully as to not wake Jill.

"What happened now?" sighed Nelly.

"I don't know. There's some litany of guys that are acting like assholes somehow and she won't tell me 'how' and it's all pissing me off."

Nelly leered, sitting on the bed, "We always _knew_ this would happen. Men don't know how to f—king act and they're not acting right with our baby sister?"

"I dunno. I mean, I don't _mind_ Jill having a boyfriend-"

"My head hurts too much for me to laugh this morning, Koji" Nelly snorted.

Koji shoved him before counting off on his fingers, "I _don't!_ I just expect him to be all levels of decent, not an _idiot,_ not a deadbeat with no job, a saint, no previous criminal activity or intentions of future, and keeps his f—king hands off of her."

Nelly's brows rose, "…A cyborg, Koji. That's what you're talking about. A cyborg."

His twin rolled his eyes, flopping back, "…I just don't have _time_ to go out there right now to jack people up. She's having a hard time with this because big bro is not maintaining his common habits."

"Well, what can we do? Maybe we should go and check on her instead of party" Nelly murmured.

"True, we have our priorities mixed up..."

Nelly sighed, "…She's never been on her own before. She's not used to this and we certainly haven't let her get used to it either."

"Yeah…"

They both went silent…

"Well, boy howdy doo! You two _finally_ realized you're both drama queens" said a voice suddenly.

Koji and Nelly jumped and found Keiba standing in the doorway, his arms crossed. Koji leered at him, "Shut the hell up, Keiba, you don't even _get it_. This is our _only_ sister."

"I do understand. You don't want some crackhead bumming money off of her and using her for sex" Keiba drawled, "But you have a shocking lack of confidence in someone you basically had a hand in raising."

Nelly's eyes widened as Koji looked irritated. "I have _all_ the confidence in Jill. What I don't have confidence in is the mind that gets lovestruck. You accept a whole lot of s—t when it's you who's getting hurt."

Surprisingly, Keiba looked thoughtful, "…Well, unfortunately, you're not wrong. But you're also stopping her from even having that opportunity."

Keiba walked away and Koji groaned, burying his face in his hands, "…So we just let her? Just…let her go now? After all this? My baby sister?"

"…She's not a baby anymore" Nelly muttered.

Koji stared at her wistfully as she slowly stirred. Opening her eyes slowly, she looked from Koji to Nelly.

"Nelly?" she murmured sleepily.

"Hey, lady" he smiled.

She sat up and gave him a hug, still half-asleep. He hugged her tightly and glanced at Koji who stared back gravely before he smiled at her.

"So, you ready to give us some names?"

"Koji" Nelly leered.

"Just for _reference_ for when you go back and do what you need to do."

Jill snorted, hugging her knees, "And what is it that I need to do? Listen to a bunch of guys bicker over me not doing what they want?"

Nelly smiled at Koji whom was also smiling but only because he was trying to not blow up in rage. "Princess, we have never armed you with this knowledge because we were the guns that were cocked to kill for you your whole life. However, if some dude tells you anything or tries to control you, say ' _fuck you_ '."

"And if it gets beyond that, please, for the love of _God_ , call me" Koji grunted.

She bit her lip before smiling herself, "…I guess you're finally saying do it on my own, huh?"

"Jill, you will never _have_ to be on your own, I promise that until the day I die" Koji insisted, "…Just…use your judgment. We trust your judgment to do what's best for you. I know it may not have seemed that way but we've only ever wanted the best for you. You…you know what that is though."

"…Yea. I wonder sometimes."

Stretching, she nodded, "Okay. I feel better. I guess I better head on back."

"Now hold on, you're not going anywhere _today_ " announced Nelly.

She looked at him in confusion and Koji smiled, "We'd like to spend the day with you, Jill. And I'm sure the others do too."

She smiled happily and Nelly collapsed on Koji's bed, " _After_ big brother sleeps off his hangover."

"Yea, I need like another hour or two" Koji yawned.

"You guys suck" she leered.

Jill laughed as they poked her playfully, questioning if that was any way to speak to her _favorite_ brothers. She stuck out her tongue but dozed back off. Koji shot Nelly a quick look before closing his eyes, turning on his side. Yea. The bars were off now.

But Cliff and whoever? They better get their f—king act together.

XXX

 _Cliff sat outside on top of Jill's shipping bin, his eyes heavy with exhaustion. He'd spent the day watering her crops and feeding her animals. And, honestly, he almost couldn't blame her for running away. This was a lot of work to have along with the melodrama of him and Kai._

 _He sighed miserably and watched the entrance, silently praying she hadn't gotten fed up and would return. Kai shrugged, told him 'she was rich' and that she could really do anything she wanted. He…was familiar with the feeling. And frankly he could make some moves if that were the case. However, why…would he? What was it about her?_

" _Jill…"_

Jill sighed blissfully as she returned. Having spent the entire day with her family, she was admittedly rejuvenated. Hands full of bags, she couldn't help the smile crossing her face. Koji and Nelly had called up everyone and she just knew they were too busy with their lives to just drop everything for her.

Alas Shin, who was in the army _and_ the police force, somehow managed to get the day off. Shaun and Tony totally dropped all their studying and homework to come. The one that surprised her the most was when her doctor father took time off too. Her mother questioned what had her back and Jill explained her…friend issues. While Koji and Nelly were attempting to be supportive on that front, she could tell her papa, who generally _was_ the supportive one, was struggling, suggesting maybe she should just come home. Her mama smirked at him. "Give the girl some space to breathe, 'daddy'". It was just what Jill needed.

Walking through town, getting stares from the villagers who'd seen the little blowup at the festival, she sighed and wondered what kind of rumors had flown around. Coming close to the farm, she winced. Usually she put out enough feed for her animals for at least three days but she did always check on them either way. Starting to speed up a little to go apologize to the creatures, she halted and gasped.

Cliff was lying on top of the shipping bin, sprawled. She could only feel her heart pulsing as she dropped everything, running to him. "Cliff! Cliff, are you okay?"

Cliff's blue eyes fluttered open and he sat up immediately, looking around, disoriented. "Huh…?"

Oh, so he was just _napping_ on top of her _shipping bin._ "Y-you…scared me to death, you…you baka!" she snapped.

He finally gained his focus and gasped, abruptly pulling her into his arms, "Jill, oh my God, I was so worried about you! Where have you been?"

Startled, she looked to the side and mumbled, "I went home to see my family. I just needed a little break."

His grip tightened a little and he whispered, "Oh…"

She looked at her field and found it watered and her animals grazing in the fields. Surprised, she glanced up at Cliff. "You did all this?"

He nodded sheepishly and finally removed his arms, scratching his head, embarrassed.

"I, uh…I just…wanted to do something for you, y'know? I mean…I'm sorry. I did start that fight with Kai…but…but I was angry at him for saying those things about you."

She sighed, "It's okay, Cliff…"

He stared at her a moment and she swallowed, blushing.

"Is something on my face?"

"No…it's just…you seem so…" he stopped a moment then smiled, "Refreshed."

Jill smiled, nodding, "I was happy to see everyone again. I've always been around my family, this is the longest I've gone without. I needed it."

"Oh…yea, seeing family after a long time is nice…" he commented absently, sounding as if that feeling was foreign to him.

She gazed at him a moment and then murmured softly, "I was happy to see my family…but…I think I'm also happy to see you."

His eyes widened a little in surprise and then they softened, his cheeks coloring a little. He leaned forward a little and whispered.

"Jill…"

It was just for a swift moment but she could tell he was going to kiss her. She closed her eyes and was going to let him. Just…

As long as she and Kai were a couple, this was cheating, wasn't it?

She quickly looked down, flustered, "S-Sorry, Cliff, u-um-"

"Right, right, Kai" he blurted, his cheeks also flushed, "I, um, I understand. Um, ju-just…I don't _like_ him but I-I don't want to let something like that come between us. Can…can we be friends again?"

She was startled by this question but, ultimately, so relieved. "Of course we can. I-I don't think we ever stopped."

He smiled sheepishly and then stifled a yawn. "Great. Mm, I'm going to go home now. All this work killed me…"

She felt very grateful and rose on her toes to kiss his cheek. Seemed safe enough. "Thank you."

He blushed and nodded before smiling bashfully, "See ya'…tomorrow?"

"Of course."

Watching him leave, she grimaced and sat on her shipping bin. She told her mom in private she was sort of _something_ with her friend's son. Yagami Dana groaned. _"…She says her youngest is kind of a wildcard, baby. He…well, he acts like your brothers. Hopefully he hasn't been trying to push you into things."_

…Ugh. Yes, he wanted it, definitely. But when he _didn't_ want it…

"Babe?"

Jill looked up with a raised brow, Kai appearing next. He looked surprised. "…Wow, I didn't think you'd come back."

"Because I'm a quitter?"

"Because you can have _anything_ else."

She pursed her lips as he came to sit beside her, twiddling his fingers. "…Okay, Jill, it's been eating at me since yesterday. I confess that I told Cliff I was gonna try some underhanded tactics to potentially get sex or other acts out of you. It…it wasn't good and I know better. I'm sorry."

Jill glanced at him, grumbling, "My mom said your mom says you're a manwhore. It sounds like it's true."

Kai groaned, dropping his head back, "I don't have a good excuse, Jill. Just that this particular tan I have that doesn't go away? Girls aren't exactly like my mom and okay with taking the dark guy home around these parts. I have always been _for_ quickies and dick on the side. The idea that I might have to put in work for a girl because this isn't one of those situations is new to me."

…Huh. Jill frowned, folding her fingers, "…I'm…very aware of what you're talking about due to my mom and dad, Kai. I know you probably don't have a whole lot of…actual love interests that mean to be love interests. But I'm just…not that kind of girl, okay? And…and I don't mind being a learning experience for you but I am not just here to put out, okay?"

"I know" he sighed, "…Still sucks, you're pretty damn hot."

"You are terrible" she stuck out her tongue, "But, I will say, if you had played it smoother, I probably would have _more_ than considered it."

"Really? Damn!"

He turned to her after a few moments of silence and smiled, rubbing her arm, "…I think you might have the hots for pretty boy though, Jill. And he's pretty crazy about you too. Don't back down to Ann, she's just toying with him to mess with you."

"Ugh, this is so much extra drama, Kai. Like you, I am not used to this sort of thing" she huffed.

"Hey, say what you will about the flighty manwhore lifestyle but I don't get tied down and have to deal with extra feelings-s-s" he sang.

Smirking, she elbowed him, "You will when it's worth it. Wanna watch The Matrix Reloaded as friends now?"

Kai made a face, his brow raised, "…I mean, can we at least make out on occasion?"

"Kai."

"All right, all right. I guess I'll watch a movie and try not to let the sexual tension bother me" he grumbled with actual petulance.

With a snicker, she picked up her bags and blinked back at him. "You try to stay good and honest, I might ask you to give me some 'tutorials'."

"Can you say 'Saint Kai'?"

She laughed, relieved. So she was still friends with both of them, thank God. She…she hadn't royally screwed this up. Like her brothers trying to pull back the reigns, she needed to also have confidence in herself.

The situation with Kai seemed to have rounded off at ease though. Cliff, however? She…wasn't confident where she was with that. 


	5. Birthday

**Chapter 6:** Birthday

 **Author's Note** : Woot, woot, another update. This, by and large, is one of the bigger departures from the previous version. Not the BIGGEST, as some chapters I'm pretty much writing from scratch right now. But it stays mostly true to the subject matter. Additionally, I threw in some concepts that distribute across the series as a whole.

Happy Reading!

XXX

 _Yagami Jill groaned, stretching when she noticed for some reason she was asleep on her couch. A little mystified by the thigh her head was rested on, she sat up and found Kai Thompson also fast asleep. Oh yea, they were watching a movie._

 _Looking at the clock, she was relieved it was just a little after midnight, meaning she could get at least six more hours of sleep. She shook Kai's shoulder and he mumbled something before slumping some more. "Kai."_

 _He bolted when he heard her voice, seeming startled. "What the—oh. Oh, damn, Jill."_

 _"C'mon, let's go to bed" she yawned, grabbing his arm._

 _"Uh, wha?"_

 _"Just to sleep, perv. C'mon."_

 _Kai gave her a look before wandering behind her to her room. "Jill, I probably ought to go home."_

 _She sulked at him, taking off her shirt. Kai looked flabbergasted, "…Why am I getting so much more potential now that we're just friends?"_

 _"Shut up" she leered, starting for the bathroom, "It's too late for you to be walking around these parts in the darkness, especially considering your 'reputation'. There's nothing wrong with you sleeping over."_

 _Finding her brother's System of a Down t-shirt, she put it on, brushed her teeth, and started back into the room. Kai was stretched across her bed with his arms behind his head, half naked and a cocky smile on his face. "…You know, we could always be friends with…benefits?"_

 _Jill smirked at him, walking over to lie down, "You know, there are at least two separate beds in this room."_

 _"When I can be your little spoon instead?"_

 _With a laugh, she elbowed him, "Your side of the bed, little spoon. Good night."_

 _Kai just sighed and pulled the blankets over him, closing his eyes again. He was just going to be flirtatious forever, she had to realize. While she recognized she should be wary of that, she didn't get the idea he didn't know boundaries. A tiny place in the back of her mind was kind of tempted to give it a try, he was pretty hot._

… _But some part of her also wanted to understand what she wanted with Cliff. And…what he wanted from her._

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Cliff walked to Jill's farm, his heart racing for whatever reason. Lately it was doing that whenever he went to see her.

Taking a deep breath, he walked through the arch and looked around. Usually she was out watering her crops about now. He jumped a little when he heard her laughter. Smiling, he followed the sound…and instantly sulked.

Kai was picking oranges off of one of her trees, apparently talking as she weeded around her crops. According to her, they were just 'friends' now but Cliff found it strange that he saw the guy over here more _now_ since they became 'just friends'. Disgruntled, he walked over. Yea, Kai was still up to something.

"…So my sister was like, 'Kai, dad says you need a job. He makes jewelry for a living so you might as well just go around to different islands and serve pizza like you want'."

Jill smirked, "You and your siblings are really a bunch of hippies. 'Do what makes you happy, dude'."

He groaned, "We did have a pretty boho lifestyle growing up. Kind of why dad getting all stern and mainstream was a shock. It's too late, dad, we're a bunch of beach bums."

"I guess it's lucky my brothers are ambitious. I'm probably the 'beach bum' considering even my younger brother has a plan" Jill grumbled, gently tugging tomatoes from the vine.

...Well, sounded innocent enough. Cliff lightly cleared his throat. Jill looked up and gasped, "Oh, hi, Cliff! Oh my God, it's lunch time already?"

Cliff nodded as she got to her feet, dusting off her hands. "I'm _starving_. It's about time for you to open shop too, right, Kai?"

Glancing to his wrist, Kai nodded, "Yea, I better run. Dinner tonight or terrible nineties movies?"

"Terrible nineties movies. I'm having dinner with Popuri and her family" Jill nodded back.

Kai raised a brow, handing her the basket of oranges. "…Yea, be careful around that guy, babe. I mean, granted, no one likes me here but he always rubbed me the wrong way the most."

"Rick?" Jill echoed, confused, "I don't…get any bad vibes, just weird ones."

Unfortunately, Cliff sort of had to agree with Kai. Yamachi Rick, Popuri's older brother, was kind of mysterious. Not that that instantly made anyone suspicious, just something about him personally. He just didn't seem to…

Words were imprecise. To say he didn't fit or he didn't belong was making someone an outcast and that wasn't good. Rick and Popuri's father left when she was around eight or nine to find a cure for their sick mother. The man had yet to come back fifteen years later so it made Rick the 'man of the house'. It just…made him into a very strange person. Which, again, wasn't a crime. Just…something.

Cliff quickly smiled when Jill popped up in front of him, interrupting his thoughts. "Come wait inside while I wash up. It's blazing out here."

"A-Ah, okay."

He wandered in behind her, taking a seat on her couch at her behest. She'd turned on the television before she rushed to her bedroom. Resting his chin in his hand, he watched the talk show for a moment before glancing to a shirt on the floor. Granted, she wore shirts that apparently belonged to her older brothers but this one seemed a little different. It looked like something Kai had been wearing once.

She told him the day following her running off to Hondo, the mainland, that she and Kai had decided they'd just be 'friends', that he admitted to what he told Cliff at the Tomato Festival, and that he wasn't really going to be able to present exactly what Jill wanted. It sounded a little too good to be true for that playboy.

Cliff glowered, tapping his temple. And perhaps it _was_. He'd been shocked when he came over one morning to surprise Jill with breakfast to find the guy _here_. It was quite clear he stayed the night too. The thing was, it wasn't Cliff's _business_ but what were they…doing? How'd they go from making out to deciding not to make out to Kai staying the night?

He'd grumbled to Popuri after and she just shrugged. _"Maybe they're open."_

Open…to _what_? Now that the pretense of them sleeping together was over they could sleep together? It…it aggravated him.

Emerging from her room, Jill tugged at the white Nirvana shirt she had on with the jean capris. Her family seemed to be music fans, he noted. He also noted the way the shirt hugged her body before grimacing. Yea. He was jealous.

"Man, my brothers were talking about coming to visit but then all _five of them_ got distracted" she grumbled, locking the door behind them when they walked out, "I swear, they all go a damn mile a minute in nonsense. What's the seventeen-year-old kid got to do?"

Cliff chuckled, "As a recent seventeen year old young man myself, I can tell you that it's nothing good."

She groaned at that as they walked up the dirt roads. "Yea, Shaun is a little…spirited."

It was a little surprising but he'd heard her mention a name before that he somehow recollected with her surname. "Uh, so, tell me about your brothers again. I mean, five? That's nuts."

"Well, there's Shin, the oldest. Shin joined the army and works for the police when he's not on active duty. He's the responsible one. Then there's the twins. Koji is the oldest and Nerimaru—Nelly—he's the youngest twin. They're both like, absolute frat boys but without the actual frat? Like, they really just want the party part? Then there's my brother, Tony. Tony went to school this year. He's a little more mild-mannered than the twins but he's just as prone to insanity so not by much. Finally, there's Shaun. He should be going to college next year but he's crazy."

Yagami Shin…it was unlikely that there were two of them. Jill looked up at him as they walked by the blacksmith, "Do you have siblings, Cliff?"

Oh. "Um, yea. I'm the oldest but I have two younger sisters. Nyoko is the middle child and Kyoko is the baby."

"How'd you get 'Cliff' and your sisters are rhyming?" she teased.

He grinned, "I dunno. Your parents were all over the charts too though."

"I do wonder" Jill mused thoughtfully, thanking him as he held the door to the inn slash restaurant open for her, "I would guess it's because my dad's half-American but, I mean, he was born and raised _here_. He does a lot of American things for not having been born there."

Yea, he had a good inkling now he knew. They did have that much in common. He took a seat and was relieved when it was another waitress that took their order. Something about Ann lately made him kind of frustrated. Maybe because this whole Kai predicament started at the Goddess Festival where she interjected only to run off with Mary later.

… Clearing his throat, he twiddled his fingers, "…Can I…ask you something super invasive?"

"Wha?" she echoed, "… _How_ invasive?"

"Like…what's going on with you and Kai?"

With a groan, Jill rolled her eyes around, leaning back. "Look, I don't actually know. The night I was like, 'look, you're looking for a lay and I'm not', everything seemed fine. Then, well…I don't know. It felt like when all the pretense was out the window, I didn't feel weird about making out with him."

Bingo. Cliff sighed deeply, "So you're a couple."

"I'd feel _better_ that way but Kai won't hear it."

What? "He's an idiot then! Why won't he?"

She shrugged as if it was very inconsequential. "I think he truly agreed that it wasn't appropriate for us. Honestly, even he's the one that will kind of pump the brakes if we're getting in too deep. I'm grateful though. I'm more like my brothers than I would have ever even wanted to be."

"Oh?"

"Hell, I'm all by myself out here without my guards and all these hot guys. I could be making up for lost time" she huffed.

Somehow, he had to smirk at that. "So you have your eyes on other guys aside from Kai?"

Cliff's eyes widened as she gazed at him solemnly. His eyes were a darker blue than hers. Hers were absolutely piercing and…and he wanted to know badly what it was she was thinking.

"I mean, Grey's kind of hot too, y'know?"

He snickered, breaking from the stare, rolling his eyes, "That's what all the girls say…"

"But, oddly, _Kai_ is the hated one."

Eh? Cliff raised a brow at her and she gave him a look back. What? "Well, _Kai_ will actually _act_ on it. I don't know what his game is, Jill, or whatever you guys are doing but just be careful, okay?"

She waved a hand and changed the subject but he was irritated. It didn't make sense to him. It was like she was uncomfortable being Kai's girlfriend but was now more comfortable 'open' and actually trying to engage Kai in a relationship. And Kai was refusing? What the hell?

…He had a lot to figure out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _Let's ditch this dump and go have some fun elsewhere."_

Yagami Jill flustered as she walked beside Kai, awkwardly looking up to see if anyone would recognize her. They were in the forbidden area of Wasaba. Wasaba was where her father was born, essentially the slums, and while the man had been very lenient with his children, he strictly forbid them going to Wasaba for any reason. Basically, his sons tap danced all over that mandate, going to Wasaba like it was their second or third home but her? She listened. And now? Now, she was walking into East Wasaba and felt terrible.

"M-Maybe we should go back to Mineral Town, Kai."

"Why?" he questioned, smoothing his Calvin Klein black shirt, "You're not scared, are you?"

Pouting, she glanced around again. Honestly, it didn't look _that_ bad. Sure, there were some empty creepy looking buildings but that could happen everywhere. No, it looked like the average city. Just… "…My papa told us not to come to Wasaba."

"I mean, you couldn't _pay_ me to go to West or South Wasaba, but North and East are awesome. But we can go back if you don't want to stay. Just it's a shame since you got all dressed up."

Her brothers would have a conniption, her wearing just a black spaghetti strap dress and a pair of strappy heels. She'd even curled her hair. It was just the first time she got to really go to a club-club not for a concert. Grumbling, she crossed her arms. "No, I'll-I'll stay but not for long."

Kai grinned and held her hand, "Let's make it a fun 'not for long' then."

Jill grasped his hand a little tighter as the bouncer gave them sort of a 'look' but allowed them in. Perhaps they could smell her fear.

It was crowded. And smoky. And it smelled like liquor which she knew well from her older brothers. This…did not look like her scene. Kai smirked at her knowingly, leading her to the bar. "C'mon, let's get a drink to get you a little less tense!"

"That doesn't sound like a good thing!" she called back, sulking.

"I'm here and I promise I won't let anything happen to you!"

Sure. He sat her at the barstool as she signaled for the bartender. He ordered cognac and ordered her coconut rum with juice. She frowned as the busy tender quickly composed the drinks before rushing back to the other end to other patrons, advising she'd open their tab later. Tab? Jill picked up the drink and sniffed it before taking a sip… "…Oh! That's actually good!"

"It's the weakest liquor I know!" he teased, pinching her side.

She stuck out her tongue and took another sip. While she knew this was very much _not_ what her brothers were drinking, this was kind of tasty so maybe all their beverages made sense. "Kai! Have you ever had Everclear?"

"You mean have I ever wanted to wake up in another country, naked, on the street? No!" he smirked.

"My brothers, the twins, they drink it all the time!"

Kai just cringed and shook his head, "Your brothers are hard then, that s—t is almost a hundred percent alcohol!"

Oh. Well, those two were crazy. Finishing her drink, she requested a sip of Kai's. He smiled at her coyly, "Henny may be a little strong for you too!"

"Oh, just a sip" she huffed, taking it.

…It was interesting. Not tasty like the rum but it was kind of sweet and a little spicy. "I want that!"

Kai laughed and waved for the bartender again, "You're just more and more my kind of person every day, Jill."

Hmm? He ordered two more cups and handed his credit card over this time. She poked his arm, "Let me get next round!"

"Next round?" he echoed, "I thought you were a lightweight!"

She _had_ nipped at a bit of Koji's Smirnoff once but it was unflavored and absolutely awful. It had made her sick and throw up for hours. However, she was only thirteen, fourteen at the time. The experience hadn't made her want to try anything else since but maybe she was actually better off this time.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kai Thompson stared, flabbergasted and horrified, as maybe an hour later Jill and the club pretty much went _insane. Three, six, nine, damn, girl fine. Hopin' she can sock it to me one more time. Get low, get low, get low, get low, get low, get low, get low._

He smiled awkwardly as she straddled his waist where he had been sitting with her, grinding and sloshing maybe her fifth drink around, screaming with the other clubgoers. _"To the window, to the wall!"_ Yea, this was probably not going to go well. Trying to find a way to grab her without grabbing somewhere inappropriate, he settled on wrapping his arms around her. "Uh, hey, Jill! Maybe we should go!"

"Why?! Just a couple more drinks!"

"Oh, no, no, a couple more of those and you're going to hate my guts tomorrow!" Kai laughed nervously.

She gave him this sexy sultry moue, hugging his neck, "I don't hate you like the others, Kai. I like that you're honest and open with me."

"Huh?"

He was a little puzzled by the sentiment but jolted when she kissed him _hard_ , her tongue darting between his lips. Oh hell. Turning his head, his mind in shambles, he quickly raised a finger to signal the bartender to cut them off, "Y-Yea, an-and honestly, we need to go! Check, please!"

Swallowing when she kissed his neck, her legs still grappling his hips, he frantically signed the receipt, dropping a hefty amount of pieces on the table for tip before standing up and reaching out to stabilize her. She almost fell over, giggling. "C'mon, Kai, let's go to a hotel."

"No, no, let's not do that" he smiled, holding her waist as they exited. "L-Let's go home and I'll tuck you in."

At the time, she didn't argue, staggering and almost falling over a number of times. He would have carried her but…well, that'd just look suspicious of anyone at this current junction but especially for him.

The ferry was _vicious_ for this type of outing, Jill's high coming down when seasickness battled drunkenness. She turned green and rested her head in his lap, queasy. Kai awkwardly rubbed her back, swallowing at how silky her skin was. Yea, this…

When they arrived to stable ground, it was late enough he felt comfortable in Mineral Town to physically lift her back to her farm. Jill held him tight, mumbling to him that maybe the Henny _was_ a bad idea.

After getting her keys to enter the abode, he carried her back to her room and settled her in bed. After all _that_ , he was ready to go settle on her couch. They'd find him on the sand outside of his beach house if he tried. While he assumed Jill had fallen asleep, she roused to wrap her arms around his neck again. "K-Kai, I w-want to try it. M-My brothers get girls all thuh time…"

"Huh?" he said, confused.

"I wanna try it. Le-Let's have sex. I-I wanna know w-wha' the big deal is."

Oops. "Yea, Jill, that's a big no-no when we're drunk, okay? That aside, we already decided we're just friends, right?"

"But I know you better now…we can try it again…"

…Mm. "What about Cliff, Jill? Don't you still want to try with him?"

That made her look mad. "He doesn't wanna try with _me_. At least you were consistently interested…"

…That dummy. "Maybe, lady. But we'll revisit this tomorrow, okay? I'm sleepy."

He kissed her forehead and pulled the covers over her. Somehow, he half expected her to come crawl onto the couch with him but when he went to check on her ten minutes later, she was fast asleep. Kai stared and his brow twitched.

…His third and pretty much last girlfriend had gone with him to that same bar one fateful night. He suggested she try the cognac and she told him in what had to have been the worst breakup line of all time that 'brown was trouble in more ways than one'.

…Cliff needed to get his damn act together.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Yamachi Popuri smiled as she wandered into Jill's bedroom with a tray of broth and water. Jill, on the other hand, was moaning and sobbing. "My brothers are _monsters_. There is _nothing_ worth this sort of agony…"

With a snicker, Popuri sat down on the bed with her, "Two, three drinks is my maximum standard, girl. You went two over."

Sitting up, her hair tousled all over her head, Jill wearily sipped the broth. "Yea, Kai said I should stop after I bought the third round but I was raring to go at that point…"

Popuri raised a brow, "You two didn't drunk shack up, did you?"

Jill flustered, groaning again, "No…he was very decent and respectful. I mean, I put it out there but he did the right thing."

Popuri rested her legs across the bed, blinking knowingly, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you sound a little disappointed."

"Oh no!" she gasped, "I-I mean, I'm glad he kept anything from happening! Just…I guess I wouldn't have exactly _regretted_ it. I-I will admit I know the meaning of 'liquid courage' now. I dunno if I have the guts to be that forward sober."

"If you're comfortable with the person, it's easier" Popuri assured, glancing at Jill's nightstand.

Oh. Popuri picked up a picture in a frame, "Oh, are these your brothers?"

"E-Eh? O-Oh yea, t-that's them. We took that when I went back" Jill blurted.

Tilting her head, she looked them all over. "Well, not to sound skeevy, but I can tell why they might have had a harem. You have a gorgeous family. Point them out to me."

"Oh, uh, that's…Shin. Shaun. Tony. Nelly. And uh, that's Koji."

…Koji. Popuri frowned, looking up, "…You know, I think when I was younger I remember playing with a 'Koji'."

Jill looked alarmed. What? Before Popuri could question, there was a knock at the front door. She stood, smirking, "Maybe one of _your_ quickly developing harem."

"Oh my God, I _am_ drinking and flirting with multiple men. I _am_ my brothers" Jill gawked.

Popuri laughed, heading to answer, "From what you've told me, not even close."

Indeed, on the other side was one of Jill's 'multiple' men, Cliff. He frowned, "Hey, Pu. Is Jill okay? I called her for lunch and she sounded awful."

"She's nursing a bit of a hangover but she's okay" Popuri explained, waving him inside.

Cliff looked aggravated, taking off his shoes at the small entry, "I take it Kai got her drunk, huh?"

Giving him a look, she huffed, "You need to stop being like that before you mess up, baka. Just go talk to her."

Popuri peeked in and smiled, "Hey Jill, I'm gonna go check on your animals, okay? Be right back."

"Thank you, Popuri, you're the best!"

Cliff shuffled in around her and Popuri gave him one last warning look. As was, if this kept up, Kai was about to be the lucky one. Cliff had yet to realize that Jill was waiting for _his_ affirmation. While yes, Cliff never specifically told Jill that he was infatuated with Ann, him not turning down her advances at the Goddess Festival while on a date with Jill? It would give a lot of people a skewed perception.

There was some reason Kai kept turning Jill down but Popuri had observed it was probably hinging on Cliff. If that door kept dragging, it was going to get replaced.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

" _Hey, buddy. Rough night?"_

 _Jill looked up at Cliff, miserable. "Yea…well, a lot of drinking."_

 _He raised a brow, sitting beside her, "Oh? Where'd you go?"_

 _"Mm, Shinju in East Wasaba."_

 _Cliff looked quite startled. "Eh? You'd…you'd actually go into Wasaba? I mean, it's a little sketchy."_

 _"Ha-a-a, yea…" she groaned, leaning back against her pillow, "I actually was thinking when we first got there how my dad expressly forbid it. He's from there so I figure he's got good reason but it wasn't that bad. If we hadn't gotten drunk beforehand, I probably would have liked to dance and look around."_

 _He tapped his knee and nodded some. "…Yea, it's a…different sort of place, Wasaba. But, uh, how many drinks did you have?"_

 _"Five. It was pretty crazy."_

 _"Oh…that's all?"_

 _"'That's all'? Any more and I'd probably die" she sulked._

 _Cliff smiled, rolling his eyes around some, "Nah, it wouldn't be that serious."_

 _"You sound like my brothers" she sighed gravely._

 _He waved a hand, offering to get her some more broth if she wanted. She nodded, glad that she was able to hold this down. Once he returned, she shyly asked if he wanted to lie around and watch a movie with her. "Yea, I'd like that."_

 _Finishing her food, she curled up on her side and they watched Pirates of the Caribbean. She was pretty involved until she fully realized it was two p.m._

 _There was no actual significance to that time except she realized that most people would be at work. Kai had called and said he'd be over after the shop closed to check on her. She had SOMEHOW managed to get up and water her crops this morning and brush her animals. Popuri came after she fed her family farm's chickens and collected the eggs. What…did Cliff do?_

"I can't believe you'd actually want to come back after last time."

Yagami Jill smiled as they walked through the streets of East Wasaba, much more comfortable this time. "It was fun aside from the drunk part!"

Kai snickered, "That was the _only_ part aside from my surprise lap dance."

Smacking his arm, she pouted, "Well, _that_ won't be happening tonight."

"Dang, not on my birthday though?"

After a rather easy day of chores, she decided she was going to go to the beach to actually…beach. When she actually walked the miles of white sand, she was astonished how vacant it was. It was so beautiful! The only people out were a few fisherman and those that did come to frequent Kai's mini-restaurant. She'd asked if it was private or something and everyone said 'no'.

She got out her black string bikini and went swimming close to where Kai was. He'd grinned lazily when she ran from the surf to get a drink from him. _"You seriously are the breath of life this terrible place needed, lady."_

 _"Why do you even come here if you hate it so much?"_

 _"One of the few places that'll let me."_

Some of it— _some_ , Jill understood. Due to her rather American attributes, she got characterized as the wild party girl that slept around and drank too much. Granted, she felt lately she was answering that forced calling but did it actually mean anything to what she was? For Kai, it always seemed a little deeper than that though.

Around three in the afternoon, she was prepared to order a pizza from him when she overheard him taking a call, apparently from his mom. Jill was able to hear 'Happy Birthday, baby!'.

That jerk had failed to mention it was his birthday today! He had groaned when she demanded what the deal was. ' _It's not THAT big a deal. I don't really do anything'._

Naturally, she wasn't going to allow that and proclaimed she'd take him to dinner. He'd accepted with some seeming reluctance. Well, it was a little annoying to go to Doug's since so many people around them whispered. Thus, she decided she'd take him back to East Wasaba for sushi.

"I called around to some of my old school pals and asked them where the best place for sushi is and even their bourgeois tastes said this place is awesome!" she tugged Kai as they got close to Umi.

He snickered, allowing her to pull him, "If Wensi-kids will go to Wasaba, it must be _godly._ "

Jill stuck out her tongue, " _You're_ a Wensi-kid. _I'm_ a Subami-ite."

The Yagami Mansion where she was raised almost the entirety of her life was settled in Subami which was labeled the 'new money' section of the rich neighborhood. Wensington was the 'old money' or the families that had had it for generations. It was all silly stuff. Kai rolled his eyes and smirked, "Oh yes, how ever will I forget that your family had the white limo and we had the 1920s Batman Rolls Royce which Alfred drove us around in?"

With a laugh, she was pleased it wasn't too busy on a Friday. "Hey, we didn't have limos at all. We're very picky about our driving, y'know?"

The hostess raised a brow at them when Jill asked for a table for two. What? The woman didn't say much…except did they want a translated menu? Jill frowned, puzzled, "No…we read Japanese."

"Oh. Apologies."

What the hell? Jill made a face as they were seated and Kai opened the menu, "So what car did you drive around then?"

"Huh? Oh, my dad got me a red Chevy Camaro convertible. I had always asked for one."

Kai looked shocked, "You mean you weren't like every other girl I knew in school that _would_ deign to drive that wanted a Benz?"

She stuck out her tongue, "No, I did _not_ want a Benz. I wanted my _Camaro_. But wasn't that weird?"

"You wanting an American muscle car and not a Euro-machine? Very" he smirked.

Swatting at him, she pouted, "Not _that_. The hostess trying to give us a translated menu."

"Babe, _nothing_ like that is ever going to be weird around me."

What? He ordered them a few rolls and some sake. She cringed when she took a drink, "…That is disgusting."

"I forgot you were a Henny girl" he joked, sipping his.

Jill frowned, picking up a maki roll and sticking it in her mouth. "…You know, I was talking to Cliff about that night we went out a few weeks ago and told him five drinks were way overboard but he was just like, 'what? That's all?'. Maybe I am a lightweight."

Kai gave her a look above the menu he was looking at, "Babe…five drinks? Of like, five _full_ drinks? That is _more_ than enough. Now, if he thought you were just sitting their downing Fuzzy Navels and Malibu with eighty percent orange juice all night, he'd be right, but you had three solid cups of cognac. That is not lightweight s—t."

"Maybe I'll just have one cup of Hennessey and stick to Malibu then" she mused.

Kai winked, "Now, now, I haven't introduced you to Crown Royal yet either."

While she was prepared to pay for dinner, Kai insisted he pick up the tab, joking he was expecting some birthday drinks. It…it was a comfortable relationship. Just some of the nuances he kept mentioning that she didn't quite…get were troubling.

The club was a little more packed this time, the heat of the room incredible. Jill fanned herself when she once again sat at the barstool, handing over her card before Kai got any ideas, and asked for two 'Crown Royal'.

Kai smiled and sipped his beverage after the bartender poured the drinks skillfully whilst making three other drinks. "Thanks, babe. You're pretty awesome, y'know?"

"Because I bought you a drink?" she joked.

"Nah, not just that."

She blinked at him as he swirled his cup, seeming to be in thought. "You know, we should dance this time."

"O-Oh, I might not be good at it."

"I'll show you" he grinned, taking her hand.

The night was perfect. She never got to dance with any guys. Sure, her two sort of prior boyfriends attended concerts with her, but she doubted either of them would dance. Kai was pretty good at it too. "I didn't get the dancing gene! My brothers are great at it though!"

Kai laughed, "Man, your brothers sound like a weird crowd! I did hear about their parties though!"

Ah yes, Koji and Nelly's house parties were apparently something of legend in the valley of Subami, Wensington, and surrounding areas. She glanced at her watch and groaned, "Hey, if we want to make the last ferry, we have to go soon!"

He nodded in agreement and she went to close her tab out, pleased they only finished four drinks between them this time. The drinks were 'fun' but not necessary.

Holding his hand as they exited the club, out of the corner of her eye she saw two guys smoking cigarettes give them hard looks. What? Her heart sped up a bit as they appeared to start to follow them.

"Oi, what's a _doujin_ doing around here?"

What? Doujin? Kai groaned. Jill was confused, wasn't that a fan manga? She yelped when one of the guys managed to get in front of Kai and grab his shirt. Kai looked aggravated, "Bro, we're _leaving_. I'd like to ask that you stand a _doujin's_ presence for the next five seconds as we're getting out of here."

Wait…dou meant 'dirty' but…that would mean…

Jill slapped the bastard's hands away from Kai's shirt, angry. The audacity. "Get away from him! We're minding our business so learn to mind yours, _kuso_."

"Jill-l-l" Kai sang nervously.

"And you're just the slut f—king hanging around him!" spat the guy, starting on her.

Kai quickly pushed her behind him and she squealed when he got whacked hard in the face, knocking him to the ground. "Kai!"

She had never had to fight a day in her _life_. She didn't have problems with the girls at school and guys? It hurt like hell but she punched the guy in the nose.

Hissing and holding her hand, unsure how Koji did that on a daily basis now, she was horrified when the guy looked absolutely _livid_. Oh no. She'd…she'd put them in more danger.

"W-Wait, Taki!"

Jill glanced over her shoulder, trembling as the other guy…suddenly looked petrified. "Dude, _dude_ , that's Yagami Koji's sister!"

What? Like night and day, the assaulter suddenly looked like she had ran up and stabbed him. "W-What?"

Without warning, they both started bowing and spitting out apologies, "P-Please don't tell your brother, w-we won't ever bother you or your friend again!"

Jill silently watched the two bolt off like Koji was going to emerge from a corner and destroy them. She found herself looking over her shoulder to actually make sure he wouldn't. Kai staggered to his feet, holding his jaw. "…Man, that was crazy. Your brother must be pretty gangster."

"I…I guess…" Koji was so sweet to her usually. He'd make aggressive threats in conversation regarding her but his violent reputation did precede him, apparently.

She bit her lip, finding Kai's face was already swelling, "I-I'm sorry. When I realized what he meant, I-I got angry."

"Well…that's nice" he said softly, rubbing his cheek, "I lost that somewhere."

Grimacing, she slipped her hand in his and pulled him toward the ferry station. "Let's get you home to an ice pack and some cake. A-And maybe that lap dance since I almost got your ass kicked."

Kai laughed, shaking his head, "Not even close to necessary, Jill. Like I told you…nothing is abnormal around me."

…That was not a nuance she wanted to understand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Izumi Cliff made a face as he wandered across the beach, looking around. This was unusual and unwanted: Kai summoned him.

Doug had given him the note requesting that he come meet Kai at noon when Cliff woke up at around ten. Okay. Doug told him to be wary, that this wasn't normal. No, it wasn't. But he'd answer the call because the only thing he and Kai had to talk about, as far as Cliff was concerned? Jill.

Walking up to the little beach shop, he found Kai turned toward a counter, chopping what smelled, from afar, like pineapple. Cliff cleared his throat, sitting at the counter. "I got your message."

Kai looked over his shoulder, raising a brow. "…Dude, what do you _do_? I wish I could wake up at eleven o'clock."

Cliff's eyes narrowed, "Kai-"

"Sorry, of course you could have been doing something else" Kai waved a hand, wiping his hands as he turned around, "Look, I'm going to be straightforward because I don't want to mince words with you: what the hell are you doing?"

"I beg your pardon?"

Kai scowled, "Jill. Jill is waiting for you and you're taking your sweet ass time."

What…? "Waiting for me?" he echoed, "Waiting for me to do what?"

"So you _don't_ have feelings for her?"

He flustered, twiddling his fingers. "W-Why? Did she put you up to this?"

" _No._ I put myself up to this and I really don't want to."

Cliff raised a brow as Kai started tossing dough, drawling, "This might strike you as _surprising,_ given how you and the local cronies look down on my kind—"

"Wait, wait, _what_? 'Your kind'?" Cliff demanded, leaning back.

"Yea, 'my kind'. You know, _doujin_."

To say he was flabbergasted would be an understatement, Cliff was so shocked. "You think I'm _racist_?"

Kai blinked languidly at him to denote that yes, he very much did. "Dude! I-I'm not _racist._ I'm mixed too!"

"Oh, oh, yes, like a quarter American and primarily Japanese. Tell me, does that mixture cause an existential difference in your skintone?" Kai scoffed.

… _Well…_ "Fine, it _doesn't_ but I'm not _racist_ just because I don't like you!"

Kai was steadily working through this awkward conversation while Cliff was entirely unnerved. The man pinched the dough to form the crust, not looking up. "So why don't you like me then? I mean, prior to Jill."

Cliff's mind went into overload, prepared to list off reasons. 'Doug said you slept with so-and-so's wife' and 'Jeff said that Sasha said you were flirting with her'.

…But that was all hearsay. He literally pulled a stupid prank with Jill to switch innocent flags from one place to another just because he knew how these people loved to accumulate rumors and loved the fodder. Just…

Nervous, he felt his reasoning falter. "I…I guess I…was influenced by other people."

"Good insight, Sherlock, I'm almost impressed" Kai snorted, mixing sauce in a bowl, "So, let's break it down. There have been _plenty_ of men that came in here and have actually _committed_ the acts charged against me and there was not nearly the uproar. In fact, it was _confirmed_ that Basil and Sasha had a brief affair and he's absolute gold! So, suddenly, this rather strange complexioned man comes in and smiles politely at a woman and I'm instantly f—king the whole town. _Suddenly_ , they don't like 'my kind' around here."

Kai smiled, taking a sip of juice and tilting the cup at him in a gesture, "But, business is good because of those ladies I'm supposedly banging."

Cliff stared as Kai started sprinkling cheese, humming. Oh.

"…I…I don't want to think it's anything like that, Kai-"

"Of course not. It makes you uncomfortable to think you're in a town of racists since you're _not_ racist."

Cliff groaned, rubbing his face. "Kai, I promise and _swear_ to you that I not once looked at your complexion and thought 'you can't trust that guy' because of _that_. However, I am going to apologize because I was taking the word of biased guys to judge you. Since you seem so aware of my 'fractions', you may be aware of why adultery and promiscuity may irk me the wrong way."

Kai's eyebrows furrowed, picking up a stack of pepperoni, "…Well, I've heard things, definitely."

Yea. "Either way, Cliff, I will accept your apology if you'll _grow a pair and tell Jill you like her_."

Back to this. Cliff rolled his eyes, tapping the counter, "…I _do_ like Jill, Kai, but I get this growing suspicion she's starting to like you _more_."

Sliding the pizza into an oven behind him, Kai snorted, "Cliff, she still thinks you like Ann so she's distancing herself out of respect for you and what you want. However, she very much wants _you_ to tell her you like _her_ more."

Cliff bit his lip and folded his hands, "I-I do like Jill a lot. Like-like she's unlike anyone I've met before and-and I guess I do notice she seems interested in me."

"So?"

… "Still though, she's kissing you, she's going on dates with _you_ —look, I know you guys decided to be friends but she seems just as likely to choose you too."

The man fell quiet for a long few moments and Cliff expected he wasn't going to answer. Why? Honestly, if Cliff was in competition with someone over a girl's affections and he was where Kai was in standing, he would never just walk away. It didn't make sense.

Kai rubbed his hands together and leaned against the refrigerator in the open kitchenette in the beachside shop. Finally, he cleared his throat, almost like he'd gotten choked up on silence. "She'd suffer with me."

"What? What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ that I just told you that these guys just looked at me and decided I was bad news. That's not just _here,_ Cliff—it's everywhere. Jill and I went out for my birthday and almost got jumped by two guys questioning why a 'doujin' was hanging around. I didn't even _know_ them. I can't-…I can't do that to her, okay?"

…Shit. "Kai, you can't deny your feelings for a bunch of ignorant morons like that" Cliff insisted, shocked how this shifted. Not ten minutes ago, he was ready to sock Kai in the eye and now he was encouraging him.

"Jill…was literally the first person unrelated to me that, when she saw me, it wasn't confusion or judgment for what I am. She doesn't care and she even got angry for me that night, bust that guy in the face, _fought_ for me—she wants to do things with me in the open, she wants to hang out with me at all. She's _comfortable_ and I am becoming _too_ comfortable with her. I've started to think 'but what if' and that's a mistake."

Cliff frowned as Kai pursed his lips, glancing off, "…We can move somewhere where we'd be accepted but you hear the way she talks about her family—she'd fall apart and I won't be the cause of that. But we can't be together _here."_

"Kai-"

"That shit being said, that's not to say with a hundred percent certainty I _wouldn't_."

Eh? Kai glared, "If I watch you mess around any longer and act the way you're acting with her—all wishy-washy and like you're not gonna cherish the hell out of her—I will gladly come back to this crap island and convince her to come with me. She should _only_ have the best and if you think you can't provide, it might just be worth it for me to get over my anxiety and take that plunge. But I'm giving you the opportunity because I think life might treat her better with…your kind."

"…You really sure about that?" Cliff muttered.

Laughing darkly, Kai gestured for a 'time out', "Now, if you've got some messy shit I don't know anything about then you leave her alone too. I've noticed _some_ things and know of _some_ things, like I said, but you can get your act together."

…Right. "Kai, I'll be honest, man, I don't really _like_ this reason you're not actively pursuing Jill but I'll be more honest and tell you I-I think I do want the chance."

"Only a fool wouldn't" Kai nodded.

Yea. "Well, this was a very insightful talk. I feel like garbage but I probably should" Cliff grimaced.

Kai just blinked at him languidly. Right, what was he looking for there? 'It's okay'? It wasn't. Two years of judgment was based on Cliff taking the words of people he always took with a grain of salt. A little part of him _should_ ask why but…he knew. He guessed he had dad to thank for that.

He frowned, looking up when Nakajima Karen and Yamachi Rick wandered onto the beach. Karen was wearing a bikini but Rick was still wearing a green turtleneck and slacks. It was _boiling_ out here. Karen wandered over after setting up the towel and nodded at him before ordering French fries. Kai nodded, "Coming right up."

Cliff felt obligated to buy something too, perhaps out of guilt. About to ask what was good, his eyes widened when Rick pretty much ran to and grabbed Karen to jerk her away. "What did you I tell you about buying from this guy?"

"That you don't want me buying from this guy and it's your stupid ass fault for thinking I care" Karen snorted, snatching her arm from him, "Pull yourself together, Rick."

Rick weirdly had almost orange hair, kind of like Ann's. He'd asked Popuri if they were related and she shrugged that they might have been related somewhere on their dad's side. By most accounts, Rick would have been classified as a 'nerd'-type in fiction. Somehow, he managed to get Karen interested enough to date him and they'd been going steady ever since Cliff moved here permanently. Just he wouldn't figure he'd put his hands on her like that.

Now allied, both he and Kai gave Rick a hard look. Rick visibly swallowed before backing off, marching completely off the beach. Karen rolled her eyes and shook her head. Kai gave her a look, "I think you ought have knocked him ten ways to Sunday like I know you can."

"I should have" she agreed softly, "I don't know what his problem is lately. He's been getting really grabby and commanding."

Cliff glowered, "Meaning you break up with his ass. Maybe the real habits are just starting to surface but you don't need to be there for that."

Kai nodded simply and Karen sighed, taking the basket of fries and adding a bit of ketchup. "I can. But it'd be the absolute talk of the town and I don't feel like it."

"You killing him would be the talk of the town too" Kai smirked.

Her brows rose at that but in apparent agreement before cutting her eyes toward Cliff… "You two don't usually hang out, what is this?"

"Hopefully a resolution" Cliff groaned. "Apparently _I_ have made a bad impression of myself."

Kai snorted again. "Yea, something like that. And we're talking about Jill."

Karen nodded, eating her food quietly before muttering, "…She's going to change a lot around here, y'know? Really shake this crap town up. I hope she can make it."

What? Cliff frowned at that and Kai cleaned a glass, tilting his head. Well, she was definitely the most different person to come here since he'd moved in. Just…that was a lot to ask of her, wasn't it? And…and now he had to let her know he was interested and convince her that Ann was growing to be this fleeting idea in comparison.

Time to try to amend another impression.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Izumi Cliff stuffed his hands in his pockets as he shuffled to the front door of the old farmhouse. Here goes.

He'd come by earlier, heart racing and his palms slick with sweat. She had apparently just finished her farm work when she answered, her hair still damp from her shower. She looked distraught. _"Cliff, oh my God, I almost got Kai beat up. It was awful."_

 _"Yea, he told me. It's a brave thing you did and I don't think he minds at all."_

" _Brave? I don't think so at all."_

His dad said that when he was growing up, due to his social status, people would talk about his mixed heritage behind his back. And Cliff did get looks but that…was about it. He had very few issues in regard to that. So, for Jill to hit a bigot in the face when they seemed to have had similar experiences? He found it incredibly brave. Jill just grimaced, _"Brave makes me sound like a hero; I just was angry."_

"… _I guess I didn't really think about it. I mean, I never really thought about what it may mean for others not to like him."_

 _"I didn't either. I…I mean, my brothers mentioned they got a lot of backhanded comments about 'race' but, well, y'know what chased the guys off last night? One of them realized who my brother was and it was a wonder they didn't pee themselves. My brothers probably beat the hell out of those guys. I've been…protected."_

Yea, he wouldn't have necessarily considered that a bad thing. Once. _"Well, hey, uh, we missed our birthdays so maybe all four of us can go out to celebrate and make it better."_ That was how the whole conversation got sidetracked. She seemed confused, asking when his birthday was. July 7th. It was already a month later. Jill had been aghast, _"Why didn't you say anything?!"_

 _"Uh, I…I just usually don't make a big deal of it."_

Jill kicked him out and told him to come back at eight. Now, suddenly, he was having a dinner prepared for him. This…this could be a good moment.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door to the house. Here goes.

"Door's open! Come in!"

Cliff turned the doorknob to enter and was surprised to find her in the kitchen, wearing a rather ruffly pink apron over a red corset top and black hip huggers. He raised an eyebrow and walked over to her. Flour was on her nose and he smiled some.

"Hey. Uh, how's dinner going?"

"I just put your cake in the fridge" she said proudly.

"Oh? You made me a cake? You didn't have to go through all that trouble…"

"It was fun" she admitted happily, "I didn't get to bake a whole lot, that was my brother's domain."

Somehow, based simply on what she'd told him, that seemed a little surprising. "Your brothers, the hardcore drinking, brawling twins, bakers?"

Jill laughed, taking off her apron, "Koji, Nelly, and Shin are great cooks! They had to take care of us younger kids so much, they had to get good at it."

Cliff followed her to the living room, nodding, "Yea, I know the feeling. Where's Pu?"

"I invited her but she said she had something to do tonight. And I _had_ made an invitation to Kai but he said his mom was coming to visit."

Yea, those were all very convenient excuses. "So guess it'll just be us then."

"Seems so" Jill smiled, "Don't worry, I'll try to be good company by myself."

Eep. "O-Oh, I-I didn't mean it to sound like _that-_ "

She giggled, seeming unbothered, "I know, it's just weird to have a one on one birthday party, I'm sure."

If you weren't dating, probably so. She sat him down at the table, going back into the kitchen and returning with curry rice, his absolute favorite. "Aww, Jill, this…this is nice, thanks. I haven't had any homemade since I left home."

He tasted it and it…it was perfect. Jill looked pleased, "I'm glad. I did have to call Koji a few times on that one, he is the curry master but he talked me through it."

Cliff spooned a bit into his mouth, blissful. "I love it."

She looked happy as he finished about two servings, nibbling at her small plate of the recipe. He questioned if she made it and hadn't liked it. He'd feel _terrible_ if she made it just for him. "Oh, I like curry but, funny thing is, we had so much of it growing up, I just got a teeny bit sick of it. Koji teased me about even asking how to make it."

"Ah" he smiled, wiping his lips, "Well, I appreciate it then. That was the perfect birthday treat."

She gasped, "Oh yea, your cake!"

Running off, she returned with the round, slightly misshapen cake with chocolate frosting. He stared at it as she cut it and grinned. "You sure this won't kill me?"

She gasped, "Cliff! I worked a long time on this cake!"

He smiled, "I'm kidding, Jill, I'm sure it's delicious."

She pouted and took a bite from her slice before squealing and covering her mouth. He stared at her, surprised.

"What's wrong?"

"It's SO sweet!" she sobbed, "My teeth are going to rot out!"

"Did you follow the recipe?"

"Y-yes…sorta."

"Sorta…?" he questioned slowly.

"Well, I thought that one cup of sugar wasn't enough—"

He couldn't help but laugh and took a bite himself. He almost instantly felt his blood sugar rise. "Well, it's still good."

"Don't eat that, your teeth are going to rot out" she pouted, taking it from him.

Making a face, he scooped it off the plate and crammed it into his mouth to her very poignant horror. What? Cake was supposed to be sweet. He chomped and gave her a smile as she looked _very_ sulky. "You're a dork."

"I'z muh birthday cake."

"You must be a sugar fiend" she smirked, putting her slice back. "So not only are you gonna get cavities, your gift is late."

"Meh, why on Earth are you getting a gift shipped for me? Silly…" he scoffed.

"Because!"

Cliff stared down at her, her face bright and sultry. She was really cute and…and he didn't want to mess this up again. He had a penchant for that. He smiled when she offered to pour them a glass of wine. "Sounds awesome. But first…"

He wandered over and knelt in front of her stereo. She looked up from popping the cork on what looked like a bottle from Aja Winery, blinking. "What are you doing?"

"Mm, looking for a song."

He frowned before smiling and putting a CD in. She raised an eyebrow and he stood, waving her over. A soft guitar solo came on as she walked over, looking puzzled. She gasped a little when he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"What are-"

"Mm, well, our last dance was interrupted…and this…this would make my night" he murmured gently.

She swallowed and blushed before slowly nodding and wrapping her arms around his neck, closing her eyes as she relaxed against him.

 _She seems dressed in all of me; Stretched across my shame. All the torment and the pain_

 _leaked through and covered me. I'd do anything to have her to myself; just to have her for myself. Now I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do…when she makes me sad. She is everything to me: The unrequited dream; The song that no one sings; The unattainable. She's a myth that I have to believe in. All I need to make it real is one more reason. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do…when she makes me sad…_

 _But I won't let this build up inside of me. I won't let this build up inside of me._

He bit his lip, words getting caught on the tip of his tongue. C'mon, Cliff, a really valid contender had given you this opportunity.

 _A catch in my throat, choke; Torn into pieces. I won't, no, I don't want to be this. But I won't let this build up inside of me…_

Cliff felt their hearts flutter as she looked up at him. She pushed herself flush against his chest, timidly kissing his lips. He returned the kiss perhaps confidently because underneath he was a nervous wreck, full of question. Did…did this mean she chose him? She…she did kiss Kai as well.

He trembled as she nipped at his neck, getting a little excited about the possibility. No, no, Cliff, first thing's first. "U-Uh, Jill?"

"Hmm?"

"What…what do you think of me—or, I should say…us?"

She pulled away, a startled look on her face. "What? Us?"

It…was a very sickening feeling but something had developed that would make him feel remiss not to mention it at all. "I-I would be interested in there being an 'us', Jill. I-I know I faltered with Ann at the festival but I'm much more interested in you. You're…you're already special to me. It's different."

"O-Oh" she whispered, her cheeks pinkening.

Ugh, but… "But I…I spoke with Kai today, Jill, and I-I genuinely believe he likes you too, okay? I can…I can very much tell you're special to him too. And he's been a lot more forward than I have with you. He just…has some hang ups and I don't think any person should feel like they need to lose out because of some of the issues he has. I-I want to be with you but, if I can be so selfish, I'd like to ask that you think of us both."

Jill stared before swallowing, nodding, "T-That's a fair request. I'd…I'd probably have asked the same."

He smiled but he didn't feel it whatsoever. As far as he knew, he might have just lost what may possibly be the best thing to happen to him by 'submission'. Just…he didn't want Jill to see him as the only option because Kai was rightfully concerned. It was an odd sentiment but he just wanted to be sure for multiple people's sake.

"Well, I should be getting home…" he replied.

"Al-all right…I'll see you tomorrow?" she murmured.

He nodded and she opened the door for him before closing it behind him He lingered to lean against it, his mind spinning. What had he done? Had he done the right thing? Why was this a game of selflessness?

'Here goes', Cliff thought weakly, wandering back to the inn and hoping Doug had one more drink in him...

XXX

Yagami Jill walked toward the beach house, hugging herself against a cooler breeze. Summer was ending soon, surprisingly. It'd…been an interesting season.

Knocking on the door of the white rental Kai maintained while he was here, she took a deep breath. Okay, here goes.

Her first adult… _something_ answered, his curly hair tousled over his bandana, wearing his shorts and a t-shirt. "Hey, girly."

"Hey…you busy?"

"For you? Nah. Come in. Don't mind the mess, I'm starting to pack."

Eh? Jill's eyes widened as, indeed, duffel bags and suitcases were strewn across the floor and stacks of folded clothing where on the small wicker couch. "E-Eh? You're leaving?"

"Yep, when Summer ends here, I go to another Summer place and open up shop there" Kai explained, dropping some sneakers into a black bag.

Oh…oh yea, he did mention something like that once. "O-Oh. Y-You're leaving tonight?"

"Two days. The 28th so I can get back to Wensi for my dad's birthday then head to Nassau. Oh man, I think you'd love it there though. Have you been?"

She shook her head to the negative and Kai gushed, "Oh, you have to check it out some time. The Bahamas are just so comfy."

"…Is that an invite?"

Kai paused, having been zipping the shoe bag. He slowly looked up at her from where he was crouching before he smiled. "…Could be. How was dinner with you and pretty boy?"

"…Informative" she drawled, sitting on the couch as he resumed sorting, "He told me he wanted us to be a thing, if I'm okay with that."

Kai nodded, not looking at her, "Figured it'd go that direction. What did you tell him?"

"Well, it's more so what he told me."

"Hmm?"

Crossing her arms, she gave him a look. She…was torn, really. Just honest to God torn. Cliff had been such a good friend and confident in the beginning of this new trial. Kai just…he felt comfortable and friendly too. It…it was very complicated.

Suddenly, he groaned, "Did he tell you to consider me too?"

"Yea."

"Idiot!" Kai scoffed, his nose wrinkling, "Give a guy the chance and _now_ he wants to be chivalrous! Gets on my damn nerves."

Jill pouted as Kai threw the flap over a bag before staring off into space. He was silent for several long moments before standing up and settling beside her. "I think we'd be good together, Jill. I think you'd be everything I'm looking for. Just, it wouldn't be good _for_ you."

"Because you're mixed" she glowered, irritated.

"That's _one_ reason, Jill. I mean, it's not even slightly a good reason. It's worked for my mom and dad really well, people got over the bias of _them_ specifically. That could be the same thing for us, I know. Just…there's other things."

"Like?" she hedged, leaning over to look into his face.

"I'm not looking to settle down just yet, Jill. I'm not looking for…structure. I don't want a house just yet or-or foundation. I just want to do my thing for now."

What? Jill pursed her lips, "Kai, I told you, I had _no_ plans. That's how I ended up here in the first place. Your plan is more of a plan than I have. I could be down for traveling."

Kai smiled at her, "Jill, I'm talking thousands of miles. Miles and miles of water, miles and miles of land—different time zones. And every day we've spoken while I've been here, you've never not once talked about your brothers."

…Oh. She gaped softly as Kai shrugged, "I love my family too, Jill, but the bond I sense from you and yours? It's different. You may be able to put up with it for a little while but imagine being twelve hours or a day or two away? I think maybe one day you'll be cool with it but right now? I think you'd regret losing that closeness."

Biting her lip, she rubbed her arm. "I-I never quite considered that."

"That's why I did for you" he grinned before appearing somber, "…Date Cliff. That's the way it was heading before I became a distraction anyway. He's not a bad guy."

"No…"

Kai kissed her temple, murmuring against her skin, "And hey, if it doesn't work out with him, I'll be back. We can always revisit."

Jill smirked, tapping him, "You'll meet a girl out in your travels that's perfect for you. I'll just be a distant memory and a stranger by the time you come back."

He smiled warmly at her, his honey brown eyes full of affection, "Nah, never that."

She frowned as he stood, stretching, "Who knows though? You might have a few kids by the time I get back."

"That will _not_ occur" Jill assured, standing as well, "…I do really like Cliff. Like, a lot."

"Your kids would be the super blond" Kai teased.

Swatting at him, she smiled and shook her head. "We'll see. For now, take a walk with me down the beach?"

"Of course."

She hugged his waist as they shuffled down the cooling sands, feeling bittersweet that this was coming to an end. She spoke with Popuri earlier and she advised that the Fireworks Festival was at the end of the month. Jill would ask Cliff to that and make damn sure. If Ann popped up there, she'd be _pissed_.

Some small part of her was nervous that Ann may be the least of her concerns.

Kai suddenly squeezed her a little tighter, interrupting her thoughts. She looked up briefly in confusion before following his eyes. A little ways off, near the entrance, was…Rick? He was somewhat looking in their direction and there was not one sign of Karen or anyone he'd usually be with.

"…Jill, seriously, babe, just be careful around him, okay?"

"…Of course."

Sounded paranoid but sure. Kai looked in Rick's direction for a moment before pursing his lips. "…I'm second guessing."

"Hmm?"

"…No, no, never mind. I know you'll be safe" he murmured more to himself than her.

Okay, what? She never got the chance to ask him as he requested they go get one last one bourbon before he left. They ordered a couple rounds at Doug who was side-eying them but didn't say anything. This was the sort of town she was in, huh? Full of suspicious people filled with false suspicion. If she wasn't to look out for Duke, she was to look out for Ann. If not Ann, beware of Zach. Also, keep a strong eye on Rick.

She'd been here for half a year and now, more than ever, she wasn't sure what she got herself into.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 **End Note:** _Spoilers and mostly for my old-time readers:_ So, let me just say, this could have been a disaster. Because, as I was writing for Kai, I really started to like the idea of Kai and Jill together. As I mused over it, the idea became more and more palpable and I was wondering how I could _reformulate the entire damn series_. The very _idea_ would make every edge of everything I wrote _change_. But I sure as hell considered it.

I don't own Vermillion, Part 2. Yasss, Slipknot.


End file.
